Searching
by Rainbowkiwii
Summary: Haru's parents die in a tragic yet mysterious way, leaving the teen homeless. Now Haru finds a job of being a paper boy. One of the houses he delivers to is the home of Makoto Tachibana. And little does Haru know that he and Makoto are about to go on an unforgettable journey of discovery, and learn the truth of how and why Haru's parents died that fateful night. (MakoHaru)
1. Prologue

_It was three in the morning when tragedy struck the Nanase residence. The youngest family member, Haruka, awoke to a loud pounding on his door. His heart raced as he pulled the sheets over his ocean blue eyes, hoping that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But the knocking soon became restless, and not long after, there was a loud cracking sound heard downstairs. Haru jumped out of bed but was still too scared to investigate. But he didn't even need to, for he soon heard the screams of his mother, and the shrieks of his father. Eyes wide with fear, Haru knew exactly what he had to do. He ran downstairs to try and protect the two most important people of his life, but to no avail. His heart stopped momentarily as he looked at the two mangled figures on the ground in front of him. His knees buckled from underneath him upon experiencing the shock. He could already feel his internal panic mode setting off. He rushed to his parents' side, shaking the two and calling their names. But the two remained motionless, causing his eyes to well up with tears. However, Haru didn't have much time to cry, for suddenly, his other senses kicked in. His nose picked up the smell of...smoke? He turned quickly to the source of the smell, only to discover that his kitchen was on fire. Terror was soon struck into his heart, and he ran as quickly as possible out the door, only stopping to grab two things- his mom's necklace and his dad's wristwatch. These would be the last things he would ever grab out of the house before it burned down to ashes. After that, everything was a blur, and Haru was left confused, hurt, and scarred for life_.

Haru suddenly awoke, heart pounding from the horrible memories. That incident was two years ago, and Haru _still_ had nightmares about it. The only good thing, in his opinion, was that for every year that had passed, he had forgotten more and more about what happened that night. Hell, he was so scared that everything hadn't even registered when his parents had been killed. He still didn't understand why. He wished he could at least understand how they died, but he couldn't do that either. Despite the copious amounts of blood that surrounded his mom and dad, the police couldn't find any lacerations, or bruises, or anything on their bodies. With not enough evidence to catch the criminal/criminals, the police dropped the case completely. This upset Haru greatly, but he understood their reasons. The only reason it had upset him so much was because he had wanted to catch the bastards and reconcile by killing them himself. But he was only 14 at the time, and murder was definitely not an option. Now that he was sixteen and his grandma was no longer alive, he had to learn to go through life without guidance from anyone.

But Haru was okay with this.

He was okay with being alone. After all, he had always felt alone, and he learned to accept that this was his fate. _Other kids have it worse than me_, he'd constantly remind himself, and this mantra was enough to get him through his daily life.

_I guess it's time to eat._ he thought as his stomach growled, bringing him out of his thoughts. He got up from under his current residence, which was the side of a building in the shady part of town, and moved into an alley in search of food. See, Haru moved from town to town, seeking refuge under just about anywhere. Occasionally, someone nice would offer him a spot at their place, along with a nice meal and a warm shower. But this hasn't happened for about two weeks now, and he seriously doubted he could even come close to getting another job now. Sometimes he worked side jobs to pay for essential things, but suddenly, every job that paid well included talking to people, which Haru was terrible at. He was running out of options, he knew, so he travelled from town to town, in search of the perfect job. The town he was headed toward next, according to the signs he passed as he walked, was called Iwatobi. Haru breathed in the scent of the air, soothing his nerves. He sure hoped Iwatobi had something good for him, including a good meal.

By the time the black haired boy had gotten there, he knew that he liked the town already. It was a quaint place, with only the occasional car passing through. This was nothing compared to the crowded city of Tokyo, and Haru felt right at home. It would've been even more perfect if he could find a job here. With that new thought in place, Haru began making his way around town, scouting out different buildings and forgetting breakfast completely. Finally, when reached the end of the town, he reached a dark alley way. Right next to the alley was a medium sized office building, which looked kind of dingy, but a business building nonetheless. He read the sign above it.

"Iwatobi Printing Press. Huh." Haru whispered as his curiosity got the better of him. He walked forward and stepped inside the building. The inside wasn't as dingy as the outside surprisingly, and Haru felt comfortable enough. There was a counter and a coffee machine, and Haru could hear the hums of what sounded like printers coming upstairs. At the counter sat a man who was currently fast asleep. Haru walked up to him and observed a bell right beside him. There was a note right by the bell. It said, 'ring for service' in messy writing. So that's exactly what Haru did. The man awoke with a start, but he saw Haru and greeted him politely.

"Sorry I was asleep. It's been kinda slow around here, ya know? Anyway, tell me what you're here for." he said, firing up his computer in case Haru had anything that required that. Haru was nervous, but swallowed his fear and responded.

"I'd like to work here." The man only looked at him, shocked at his request. Here was this kid, who didn't exactly look or smell the best, wanting a job at a place that couldn't afford to take in homeless people like him. Or at least he thought he was homeless. He decided to make this clear in the nicest way possible.

"Kid, no offense, but you seem like a hom-"

"I know, I know. It's a long story," Haru wasn't exactly offended since he was used to it, but he was getting impatient and uncomfortable. "Just please, give me something." The man thought for a moment, since it was obvious this boy was desperate.

"How about a delivery boy? They don't interact with humans, and they make good amount. Enough for you to take care of yourself." Haru pondered it. All he had to do was be up early enough to deliver papers. Simple enough, he reasoned.

"Alright." He watched as the man got out several papers and began writing on them. Haru couldn't wait to start his new life. He decided he'd celebrate later with his favorite food, mackerel. Life in Iwatobi was going to be great.

_I could get used to this_.


	2. First Meeting

Haru started early the next day, four in the morning to be exact. But he didn't mind. He found that he liked riding his company owned bike though the beautiful, starry sky. He loved seeing all of the twinkling stars and wishing on them. He knew wishing for things was stupid, but he didn't care. When Haru looked up into the early morning sky, all of his worries were washed away, like the ocean waves of Iwatobi's grand beach. And that was another thing that Haru liked. Haru had always loved water for unknown reasons to anyone other than him. Being in Iwatobi made him close to the ocean, and seeing the clear, blue water put his mind at ease. He couldn't remember the last time he was this content, but he knew soon he'd have to part from this beautiful sight, for he had deliveries to make. He rode into the surrounding neighborhoods and stopped momentarily. The blue eyed teen brought out his map and scanned the houses, making sure he knew the route perfectly.

_Alright, so the first house is this one..._ he thought as he threw the paper in the driveway. Haru continued down the line until he reached a house at the very end of the block, marking the end of this neighborhood. But by the time he reached the last house, he could tell that something was different about this one. This one had its lights on, not like the other ones. He wondered who could be up at this hour, but he figured it was probably just an early worker. Still, it made him quite curious.

Haru went on his route every day for about a week now, and every day except for one day, the lights to that last house had been on. As much as he hated to admit it, the mystery behind the lights in that particular house was killing him. He wanted to know _so badly_ what went on in that house, but each day he reminded himself not to go up to that door and knock. Haru had eventually settled on watching from afar if just for a minute, hoping that someone or something would go out. But it never happened, and Haru felt more and more like an idiot for waiting each day for something to happen. But it was something to do, he supposed.

Then suddenly, the lights stopped being on.

This happened for four days of the week, and Haru began to get nervous. He had even stopped by each day in the afternoon to check on the house. The car hadn't moved from the driveway, and Haru thought something was terribly wrong. On this particular day, he heard crying coming from the house. At first, he did his best to ignore it. But then it got louder and louder, and none of the neighbors appeared to even have cared. Not being able to ignore it anymore, Haru made his way up the driveway and cautiously knocked on the door, as if something would come out and attack him if he wasn't careful. There was a weak sounding "coming!" then a few steps. Then, he heard protests coming from what sounded like crying kids. This was really starting to make him uncomfortable, and unwanted memories of the past started to creep back into his mind. Luckily, the door opened just in time to reveal a boy about Haru's age. The boy looked weary and pale, with dark circles rimmed around his gorgeous green eyes. His hair was tousled a bit, and suddenly Haru was glad he knocked on the door.

_No, not because of the boy. I just wanted to see what was wrong_. Haru mentally slapped himself. All of his own fatigue had caused him to think weird things, and this was no exception. The boy's face had lit up a little when he saw Haru.

"Oh, you're our paper boy. Hello!" he said with a cheerful tone. Haru was caught by surprise.

_He knew who I was?_ "Uh, hello. I..." Haru suddenly felt ridiculous. He knocked on the door without knowing what the hell he was going to say if they answered. But the green eyed boy only offered a sweet smile.

"Was there something you were here for?" Haru felt even more ridiculous as he scrambled to give him an answer.

"Uh, not really... My boss just wanted to me to ask how you were enjoying our paper." Haru mentally slapped himself. Way to go Haru, you managed to ask the stupidest thing you could come up with. But to his surprise, the boy only smiled again and answered.

"We like it very much, thank you! Is that all you wanted to know?" Haru was about to nod, when more screaming could be heard, and the brunette haired boy's face went from happy to a mixture of concern and fatigued. He sighed and apologized to Haru as he quickly ran to check on whatever was going on. When he came back, he smiled another weary smile, noting Haru's concern.

"It's okay, really. I can handle it." Haru didn't know what "it" was, but he knew that this teen was having a hard time handling the situation. Haru didn't like this one bit, and spoke up before he knew what he was saying.

"I can help you." he said, covering his mouth in embarrassment. The other teen seemed surprised.

"But you look like you need help yourself..." he said, then quickly covered his mouth as well. "I mean, not that you look really that bad or anything! Or just, I don't know..." he turned away from Haru, who was staring incredulously at him. He had no idea that this boy had even noticed him, much less cared for him.

"No, you're right. I'm homeless, so of course I'd look bad." Now it was the brunette haired boy's turn to look at Haru incredulously.

"Oh. It's no wonder you're so skinny. And you look and smell like you haven't had a decent bath in a week. And oh, your poor clothes are torn. And look at those cuts on your face, where did those come from? And..." the boy rambled on, and Haru thought of he was _exactly_ like a mom worrying over her precious child.

_Kind of like my mom..._ Haru thought, but quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He was not about to start down that path again.

"You really should come in." Haru heard him say. This caught him off guard, and he gave a hurried response.

"No, I really should get going. My boss needs me. I'll be back tomorrow." he said as he walked briskly away from the other teen. The green eyed boy still was concerned, so he decided to call out one last time to his paper boy.

"By the way, my name is Makoto! Makoto Tachibana! Come by if you need anything, okay?" Haru simply nodded, and hurried back to the printing place. Although he didn't show it, Haru was flustered at the total stranger's kindness. Sure other people had taken him in in the past, but it was only ever for one day, and nobody ever actually fussed over him like Makoto had. It felt different... but nice. Haru usually didn't like people, but he found that Makoto was different. But he didn't necessarily feel comfortable with it quite yet.

He needed to think.

Makoto, on the other hand, was amazed by the nature of his paper boy. Makoto had never met anyone whose eyes spoke for themselves so easily. Every morning he'd wake up early for his part time job, and he'd see Haru on his bike, with a dreamy look in his eyes as he stared into their house. At first Makoto felt uncomfortable, but he soon realized that since Haru never actually made an attempt to break in, he felt more at ease. Now he was genuinely curious as to what that ocean eyed boy thought of every day. Then there was the incident today, when he'd seen Haru up close for the first time. He looked like he was suffering, and Makoto's motherly instincts had kicked in. But it only made Haru flustered, and he ran away. Makoto had really wanted to help him, he did. However, he also had his own problems at home to take care of. But, he didn't want to dwell on that now. He just wanted to think about what Haru had said about helping. It would be a big help around the house, but who knows what else Haru had going on. And how would Makoto ever repay him anyway? Makoto thought more and more as he cooked breakfast for everyone.

_Huh, maybe there is a way to thank him_. Makoto thought as he started to come up with different possibilities.

And in that moment, both boys wondered if they'd see each other again by the time tomorrow came.


	3. The Deal

Happy Halloween everyone! :3 Are any of you dressing up? I'm curious to know what everyone is dressing up as :P

* * *

After calming down from the events of yesterday, Haru once again got up and delivered papers at four in the morning, secretly hoping that Makoto would be there to greet him. He even wished upon one of the many stars that scattered the early morning sky. He wanted to know a lot about Makoto, but was still a little uncertain. What if Makoto turned out to be a bad person? What if those screams were Makoto's victims? What if he raped him? What if-

Okay, slow down.

Haru shook his head. This was the most flustered he had ever gotten in his life, and over a complete stranger out of all things. His facial expressions might not have shown very much, but his mind was always racing. He couldn't quite fathom why that was. Was it because for the first time ever since his parents' deaths, something out of the ordinary was happening? Whatever it was, Haru was caught up in it like a typhoon. But he didn't necessarily think it was bad either. Just a little weird for his tastes.

When Haru reached Makoto's house, the lights were once again on, making Haru sigh in relief. He hopped off of his bike and carried the newspaper to the door. However, he didn't know if he should knock or just leave it there and come back later. But luckily he didn't have to make that decision, for Makoto opened the door just in time.

"Hello! I saw you approaching," Makoto said. Then added, "I kind of wanted to talk to you about that thing you said yesterday about helping around the house. If it's okay with you, I'd like you to help me." He looked expectantly at Haru, prompting him to give an answer.

"I'd like to help you, Tachibana-kun." Haru said with confidence. Makoto laughed.

"That's really great. And you can just call me Makoto, okay? Speaking of names, I don't believe I caught yours."

"Haruka Nanase. But you can call me Haru." he answered. Makoto smiled even wider.

"Can I call you Haru-chan?" he asked, giggling a little. Haru frowned in response, which only made Makoto laugh even more. "So I'm guessing that's a no."

Soon after they were done talking about the deal Makoto had for Haru, and Haru made his rounds, he walked back to Makoto's house. He timidly knocked on the door, and heard more voices inside. Not long after, Makoto, wearing an apron, opened it. Two little kids, appearing to be twins, clung to his side. They soon smiled when they saw Haru though.

"Haru nii-chan is here to help!" they both called out. Haru was a little bit surprised. He hadn't expected the two to warm up to him immediately. Makoto only smiled and shook them off.

"Don't bother him too much, okay? He's our guest here after all."

_Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the deal I made with him. _he thought as he walked inside. The deal was that if Haru helped around the house, he'd have a place to stay for good. Easy enough, he thought. It kind of reminded him of of manga he stumbled upon a long time ago where a girl was homeless, but worked for three boys for her home. But then those boys turned into animals when they were hugged by the opposite gender. Did Makoto and his family do that? No, that's impossible. Haru found himself once again thinking weird things about Makoto, and didn't even consider the possibility that he could be nervous around this person he'd met for the first time. The green eyed teen looked at him and smiled.

"Don't be nervous, Haru. It's fine." And that was another thing. Haru was starting to sense that Makoto could read his mind. He always knew the exactly what to say to Haru even though they'd only spoken a few times, and this was no exception. Of course, it could just be Haru over thinking things. But he almost didn't mind. He had no idea why, but he almost wanted to drop his stoic, 'everything is alright' act and tell Makoto what was on his mind. But he couldn't possibly do that. Not yet, at least.

"Alright Haru. You should clean yourself up first, then eat." Makoto had told him when Haru's room was set up. The raven haired boy nodded, but then realized something.

"Makoto, I don't have any clean clothes to change into." But Makoto's smile never left his face.

"I know, I'll go get some of mine. It may be a little big on you though." Haru was fine with this, and watched Makoto as he made his way upstairs. As soon as Makoto was out of sight, the twins turned to him and smiled.

"Onii-chan is so glad you're here Haru." the girl of them said. Haru was caught off guard.

"He is?" The boy counterpart nodded.

"Yeah. He says you'll make momma feel better in no time! Onii-chan works so hard to make us one big happy family, but sometimes momma makes it hard. That's why you're here." Haru took in all this new information with shock. So something was wrong with their mom. This information lead to all new questions, like where was their dad? What happened? Does Makoto still go to school? And he still wondered what was up with those ungodly screams he often heard. But Haru didn't even have time to contemplate all of those before Makoto came back downstairs, with a fresh towel and clean clothes. He smiled at Haru.

"These are for after you eat breakfast, which is right over there." he said, gesturing toward the plates on the table. Breakfast turned out to be microwave made pancakes (which Haru didn't know even existed) and partially burnt eggs. Makoto smiled sheepishly.

"I'm not the best cook in the world, sorry."

"I can cook if you want." Haru was surprisingly good at cooking, having practiced as a kid. The green eyed teen seemed surprised, but agreed. He then watched as Haru ate at an unnatural speed, finishing his food in less than ten seconds. Amazed was an understatement for Makoto.

"Guess you were hungry, huh. Would like you more?" Truthfully, Haru did want more. But he couldn't burden them anymore then they seemed, so he quietly excused himself, thanked Makoto for the food, and went to take his shower. While in the shower, he pondered a lot of things about life, and how he had made it this far. Haru often had moments where he thought deeply, but those moments were best had in water. He decided that he would ask Makoto where some of the best swimming spots in Iwatobi were after getting more acquainted with the family. After his shower was done, he approached Makoto, ready for his first task.

"Oh, I guess you're ready to start working," The way the brunette could read his mind never ceased to amaze Haru, and he nodded. "Great, because we really could use some help washing the dishes. And of course you can cook. And you're gonna have to help me get Ren and Ran ready for school since usually that's... mom's job..." Makoto suddenly looked nervous and... sad almost? It was like all the joy that was there suddenly was sucked away. Haru wasn't a great reader of emotions, but he could tell by the falter in Makoto's speech, and the way his eyes went from a brilliant emerald to a dull grass that he too was wary of their mom. Haru seriously wanted to ask what was wrong, but he refrained once more. He didn't want to be offensive after all. But Makoto soon brought back that warm smile of his, although not as cheery as before, and told Haru that he could get started with washing the dishes. Haru nodded, and made his way over to the table to pick up the last of the plates and let his mind wander. He thought about Makoto's job, and what made him get up so early for it. He was told that somedays he got up early to leave for work, but other days he got up early just because. 'Just because' was too vague for Haru to trust though, but he never said anything. He had a feeling that he would never fully figure out any mysteries this family had to offer, but he also had a feeling he almost didn't want to. Not wanting to think about any of this, Haru set his mind on putting away dishes, when he realized he had no idea where the dish soap was.

"Makoto, where's the-"

Suddenly, Haru was cut off by a blood-curdling screech.

He heard two yelps come from the living room, and protests that soon followed. The sounds were followed by pounding steps that were headed toward the back of the house, and shouts of "No, nii-chan! Don't hit her again!" Haru was beyond terrified, and quickly stopped what he was doing to check on what could possibly be happening. He didn't want Makoto or whoever else was back there to be hurt.

_What the hell is going on?_


	4. The Meaning of Family

Haru ran toward the source of the screaming, which lead him to a small room in the back of the small house. He peeked around the door, and his eyes widened in horror at what he witnessed and heard. There was Makoto and an older woman, and they appeared to be fighting, as if _almost to the death_. The woman repeatedly hit and scratched Makoto in the face, all while he tried to calm her down.

"Mom, please! It's me, Makoto, your son! Please calm down. You're alright. You're alright. You're alright..." Makoto repeated over and over. The softness of his voice seemed to lull his mom back into a tranquil state, and she soon laid back down in her bed and drifted off to sleep. Makoto quietly turned around and tip toed out of the room. He saw Haru's look of horror and felt ashamed as he closed the door. Surely Haru must think that they were freaks. Anyone would, hearing those godawful screams ten to twenty times a day. With a frustrated sigh, Makoto leaned up against the wall.

"I'm... I'm sorry you had to see that," he said to Haru, not bothering to fake a smile this time. "It's just, our mom is mentally ill, so it's hard to take care of her sometimes." Haru didn't say anything, just leaned over to touch Makoto's cheek. He pulled away to reveal something crimson on his finger. Blood.

"Ah, so she scratched me hard again. Guess I better go clean up." he said, shakily walking away. But Haru grabbed into his jacket, forcing him to stop. Makoto turned in surprise to see Haru looking at him with a serious expression.

"Go lay down. I'll get a towel." he simply said. Makoto was so surprised with Haru's sudden assertiveness that he had no choice but to agree. He wearily made his way upstairs and flopped into his bed, suddenly realizing just how exhausted he was. Makoto closed his eyes just for one second, but was fast asleep the very next.

A few hours later, he awoke to see Haru standing over him with a bowl of what he assumed was soup. Makoto thought that the gesture was nice until he realized that he had actually drifted off for longer than he intended to, and it now was the middle of the day. He jolted up quickly in panic, but Haru forced him down again.

"You looked like you needed that sleep, so I didn't wake you. I got the twins to school just fine." Makoto was relieved about the twins, but he knew that Haru was right about resting. After two weeks of only two hours of sleep, Makoto did need a major break. But what if his mom had had another mental attack while he was out? He brought his knees up to his chest and brought his head down. Life just wasn't fair sometimes, but he knew that some people had it worse than he did. Just living on that mantra was enough to get him through the day. He wondered if Haru ever thought the same way as he did. Probably not, since he was homeless before he met them.

"Do you need to talk? I'll listen." Makoto heard Haru say. Makoto looked up and stared at Haru in gratitude. Makoto never would've thought in a million years that anyone would have wanted him to vent his frustrations to them. Makoto was usually the one who got vented to, so this change was nice. But where would he even start?

_Well, I guess it doesn't really matter when you're ranting,_ he thought. _Here it goes_. He cleared his throat to speak.

"About four years ago, my family and I got into a really bad car crash. Luckily, everyone was fine except for Ren and Mom. Ren lost his leg, but you can't tell because he usually wears long pants over his fake one. But mom... wasn't exactly the same after that. Her brain got shifted around a lot, and now she's mentally ill. There's a lot of parts of her brain that have been affected, and we have a hard time taking care of her because of it. It's gotten worse over the years, but dad and I would always help no matter what. But I guess dad finally got tired of it, because two weeks ago, he just packed his bags and left," At this point, Makoto started to sniffle, and tears threatened to make their way down his face. "And you know what he said when he left Haru? He said, "If you're smart, you'll leave her like me, and you'll be happier." That's what he said, and it pissed me off. Because he also told me a long time ago to never, ever give up on something or someone, no matter what happens. So I haven't given up on mom, even if she's difficult sometimes. But at the same time," Now Makoto couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks, and he spoke in a low whisper, his voice shaking. "The bills are stacking up, mom's episodes are getting worse, the twins act out in school when they have time to go, I dropped out, and my work is still suffering. Sometimes..." he smiled a bittersweet smile, and the tears didn't cease.

"Sometimes I seriously think about killing myself. Just so I don't have to deal with it anymore."

Haru could feel his heart stop at these words. Suddenly, memories of the night his parents died seeped their way back in his mind, and he could feel himself drowning in them. Haru never, ever wanted to experience something like that again. But he managed to regain his composure when he heard Makoto's voice.

"But I don't, because that's giving up, which I can never do. But Haru, I'm so glad you're here. I was thinking maybe you could be a part of our family. Because families are supposed to be happy, and helpful, and they're supposed to love each other unconditionally, and never leave each other no matter what. So, I was hoping you could help me put back the pieces." Makoto finally finished, looking up at Haru with a small smile. Haru was speechless at what Makoto had told him. Be a part of a family? He hadn't had a family for three years now, so Makoto's words really resonated with him. Haru came forward and hugged Makoto tightly.

"I'd really like that, Makoto. So please don't kill yourself." he whispered. Makoto's heart raced with joy, and he hugged Haru back. When they both pulled away, they suddenly felt awkward for embracing that long. Makoto was the first to break the awkwardness though.

"That soup must be cooled down now, huh?" Haru nodded, and pushed it toward Makoto, who ate it gratefully. However, there was still something on his mind. He still wanted to know all about Haru, but didn't want to push him. Haru would tell him when he was ready. But just in case...

"Haru, is there something you wanted to talk about? I made you listen to me, so it's only fair that I listen to you." Makoto said with his signature gentle smile. Haru looked like he was about to say something, but shut his mouth quickly. Then, he opened it again.

"Maybe later," was all he said, and Makoto understood. "And you didn't _make_ me listen. I listened because I cared. That's what families do, right?" Makoto felt himself blush a little, and he nervously laughed.

"I'm sorry Haru, that came out weird, didn't it? I wasn't trying to force you to be with us, I just thought-"

"No Makoto. I like it this way." Makoto could feel his heart race. This was the first time in years that he had been genuinely happy. Haru could sense that he did something right, and allowed a small smile to grace his face.

"Hey, that's the first time I've ever seen you smile. I like it." Makoto observed. Haru was slightly embarrassed by his comment, and went back to being stoic again, which only made Makoto chuckle. The brunette got up and stretched, feeling more refreshed than he ever had.

"Well I'm in the mood for doing laundry, so you can just clean the dishes. Oh, and I'd also like it if you could wipe the surfaces in the house. And maybe clean the bathrooms. Oh, this is probably way too much I'm forcing on you, how about-"

"Makoto, it's fine. I'll do it." Haru said. He couldn't afford to be picky about what chores he wanted and didn't want to do, because this was his house too after all. Plus, he didn't want to see Makoto depressed ever again. It broke his heart seeing him break down, and he made a personal vow to make him as happy as he could for he as long as he could. He could see Makoto's eyes turn a brilliant emerald again, and he knew he was doing a good job of keeping his vow so far.

"Thank you, Haru. You have no idea what this means to me." Haru nodded in response, and made his way downstairs. Makoto got up and headed toward the laundry room, his mind at ease for once.

He was so glad that Haru had come into his life. He sincerely hoped that there would be more happy days ahead for their family.


	5. A New Adventure Starts

Two months had passed with Haru living and working with the Tachibanas. Haru managed to quit his old job and get a new and improved one, which made more. Because of the combined efforts of the two, they managed to pay off the previous debts that weighed them down. It was quite a struggle, but the hard work paid off. They even managed to clean up the house a bit too, and the twins were so happy to see Haru and Makoto developing a close bond.

However, all good things much come to an end eventually.

Despite their best efforts, there was still the issue of Makoto's mom. She was starting to have trouble breathing, and performing basic tasks was proving to be difficult too. It got to a point where they had to give up taking care of her alone and call their local doctor. When they took her in, the doctor shook his head sadly.

"I'm afraid her condition will only deteriorate at this point. Her brain is starting to lose control of its normal functions. We have no idea why this is, but I think it's best if you just leave her here with us for the time being. Or, you also have the option of physician assisted sui-"

"No thank you. We'll just leave her under your care for now." Makoto said just a little bit curtly. Frankly, he was almost offended when the doctor had even brought up euthanasia as an option. There was no way he'd ever choose that, unless it was crystal clear that Makoto's mom needed to be put out of her misery immediately. After they had left the hospital, Haru could tell that Makoto was upset by what the doctors had told him. He didn't like seeing him distressed, so he decided to try and talk about something else.

"Makoto, it's okay. I don't really remember what having a mom is like, but she'll be okay. Oh, wait, that's-" Haru almost face palmed at his stupid response. He intended to say something else completely, but instead _that_, out of all things he could've said, came out. Makoto suddenly stopped walking and looked at him sadly.

"That's right, I almost forgot about that. Do you... want to talk about it now?" Makoto asked softly. Haru was struggling with whether to say yes or no, but in the end, decided that it was now or never. And if he didn't do it now, who knows what could happen later on in life?

"Okay." Haru started. With that, he began to talk about everything that had happened that day two years ago. Makoto listened all the way through, analyzing everything that Haru had said. When Haru was done, Makoto just wanted to reach over and hug the poor boy. So, he did. His story was depressing, and Makoto just wanted to rub his back and tell him everything would be alright. Haru on the other hand, was surprised at the gesture. He didn't particularly like hugs, but he didn't mind when Makoto hugged him. It felt... comforting in a way. Kind of like his own mom used to do when he was younger and when he got hurt falling down. But at the same time, it felt more comforting than that too. Kind of like an 'I'll always be by your side' type of comfort. Haru couldn't describe the feeling he had in his heart, but it felt good. He wondered if Makoto had always made him feel this way, and he never noticed. But the green eyed teen soon pulled away, and covered his face in embarrassment.

"Wow, that was weird, huh? Sorry." But Haru only smiled a small smile in response, telling Makoto that it was okay. They walked back to the Tachibana residence in complete silence figuring that leaving two rambunctious, young kids alone for a long period of time was a bad idea. When the door opened, Makoto was immediately tackled to the floor by both of them.

"Onii-chan, where's momma?" Ren asked, prompting him to nervously look at Haru as if to say 'help me please!' Haru couldn't blame him, but he wasn't exactly good with sugar coating things like Makoto was. Makoto sighed having realized this, and decided to try his best.

"Mom is in the hospital right now. She's not feeling well, so the doctors are going to make her feel all better, okay?" he said gently, trying to ignore the hurt looks on the twins' faces.

"But... But isn't that what Haru nii-chan is for?" asked Ran. Makoto tensed again.

"Well, Haru _is_ here to help us, but he can't cure mom. That's just the way it is. Besides, you can always stay with grandma if something happens-"

"But we don't wanna stay with grandma! It's too far away from here!" They both shouted in unison. Makoto sighed for what seemed like the billionth time that day, and tried to come up with a way to be blunt with them. But to his surprise, Haru beat him to it.

"He can't always take care of you two forever. Makoto needs to go to school and to work, and pay off the bills." The twins seemed surprised and a little bit angry at Haru first, but they soon realized that he was right. They couldn't weigh their brother down forever. Makoto seemed pleased that it had turned out that they understood the situation completely. But he couldn't honestly say that he even wanted to go to school anymore. He was so far behind everyone else that he wasn't sure if he could catch up at this point. He wasn't sure what college he wanted to go to, or if he could go at all. All he knew was that he was destined to be in the work force for a long, long time. But it would be okay if Haru was there with them. Haru could help him get the house back together... but then what? The black haired boy had already done so much for them, what could Makoto possibly propose that could make up for it? Suddenly, an idea popped into his brain.

_Haru said he never found who the killer or killers were. I wonder if there was some way I could possibly help._.. Makoto began really thinking about the situation. Haru never got his reconciliation, and Makoto was not okay with that at all. But there were still so many things to do around Iwatobi, they couldn't possibly have time to figure everything out.

_I guess that all depends on how mom handles this_... Makoto thought nervously. He didn't want his mom to die. But sometimes that's the way things are.

And a month later, after intense hospitalization, Makoto, Haru, and the twins were called to check up on Makoto's mom for the last time. They had finally had figured out what was wrong with her, although it was a little late much to Makoto's displeasure. It turns out that a brain tumor that had been developing for a long time on her brain had finally drained her brain of the essential nutrients and cells, and her time had come earlier than it should've. But it wasn't a sad passing, it was almost the opposite really. The Tachibana kids' mom died with a huge grin on her face, and she said,

"Mako, Ren, Ran, I love you... A lot." She gave out one last small giggle before her breathing slowed and she went into her eternal sleep. Makoto was so happy that she hadn't passed with any pain, but he still gripped her hand tight, and cried tears of sadness, and of joy. As soon as she passed, Makoto let down her hand and whispered,

"Rest in peace, mom. We love you."

A week later, it was decided that Ren and Ran were to be taken into the custody of Makoto's grandma. Although he was grateful of the gesture, he couldn't help but feel just a little bit defeated that he had to take the easy way out. But it didn't matter as long as Ren and Ran could get their lives back on track. However, it seemed that Makoto was now going to be all alone, since Haru had no reason to stay with him anymore. The more he thought about this, the more depressed he became. For the first time in his life, he'd be all alone.

_But Haru has his own life too. I'm sure he doesn't need me anymore_. Despite telling himself this over and over, Makoto still felt saddened by this realization.

When the two got back to the Tachibana residence, Makoto voiced his thoughts out to Haru.

"Well Haru, you have no reason to stay with me anymore, so I guess this is farewell." he said, with a bittersweet smile. For awhile, Haru just faced Makoto, not saying anything. But Makoto could tell from his eyes that he was processing what Makoto had said. And oddly enough he found that Haru was actually... nervous? No, no way Haru could be nervous! But Makoto managed to prove himself wrong.

"I don't want to go. Then I'd be leaving you, and that I don't think I can bring myself to do that unless you really want me to." he stated bluntly. Makoto's eyes widened in surprise, and he gasped at Haru's words. The only word he could use to describe this feeling was pure joy.

"No Haru, I do want you to stay. I was afraid you'd leave right after you realized there was nothing left to for you to do, but... I'm so glad you stayed. Thank you." he said, smiling brightly at Haru. Haru felt his heart race, and that indescribable feeling he had had earlier came back.

"Makoto, there are still things I have to do, so I can't leave." Makoto was surprised by Haru's sudden statement.

"But Haru, you've already taken care of the house enough, what's left to do?"

"I still have to take care of you." Makoto felt his face heat up and his heart race. Both of them were experiencing this weird yet good feeling. They didn't think it was love, but maybe something close. But at the same time, it was weird for two boys to be together, right? Oh well, they didn't need to think about it right now. What was important was what Makoto had been agonizing over for the past few weeks.

"Haru, you've done so much for our family. I want to help your family too." Haru didn't know what Makoto had even meant, unless...

"Are you saying you want to find the killer or killers?" Haru asked, his eyes going wide at the suggestion. Makoto nodded, a determined gleam in his emerald orbs.

"Yes. I think you deserve to know who killed your family after all this time. It may have happened a long time ago, but it's still important to get closure. Those people could still be on the loose, and I don't want to see anymore people getting hurt because of them." Haru's eyes shined with eagerness in what Makoto was saying. However, he was still a little hesitant. He had no idea how reckless and merciless this person or people were, or where they were, or even their names. He was nervous he'd admit, and the risks were way high. But when Makoto spoke so motivationally like that, he couldn't help but trust him. He nodded to his friend in agreement.

"Alright. Let's do it."


	6. One New Friend

Haru's and Makoto's journey started two days after they both agreed to it. It sure was a good thing Makoto knew how to drive, or this whole endeavor would've been a bust. The two boys didn't have a full, thought out plan yet, but they both agreed that it would be best to visit the site of Haru's old home. According to Haru, it hadn't been touched since the murder. They figured since Haru's old house was so far away from Iwatobi, they prepared like they would for a road trip. The duo even managed to make Ren and Ran happy by saying that they could stay at the old house with their grandma for awhile, since they'd have no idea when they'd return. As soon as Makoto's grandma came over, he started up the car and got in, waiting for Haru to finish using the bathroom one last time before they departed. However, as soon as Haru's stepped out of the bathroom, Makoto's grandmother called out to him from the kitchen. Haru was suddenly nervous, and walked to the table, then sat down. But his friend's grandma only gave the signature gentle smile that seemed to run in the family.

"Thank you so much for taking care of Makoto, Haru-san. He's been so stressed out lately, and I felt so bad that I couldn't come over and help. But because of you, he's been looking healthier. So don't worry about taking care of the house, or the twins. Makoto has me and many other cousins to do that." she said. Haru couldn't help but feel happy at these words. The amount of encouragement from the Tachibana family that he got was almost overwhelming to him, but it was a _good_ type of overwhelming. It was something he hadn't experienced very much in life, so it was a good change. Haru stared out the window in a trance, a mixture of emotions running through his brain. Makoto looked over from behind the wheel and smiled at his friend, wondering what he could be thinking about. He was probably nervous and excited, Makoto reasoned.

_Those eyes hold so much wonder_. he couldn't help but think.

A couple hours later, they were a quarter of the way there. But they also had a problem. See, Makoto did not account for the fact that his old car needed to refuel more than a normal car would, and went way longer without stopping than he probably should've. Thus, they found themselves currently stuck on the side of the road. Sure it was only about two miles away from the next town, but there were no signs of life anywhere. The two boys had to admit that it was kind of creepy. But at least no one would jump them in broad daylight.

Or so they hoped.

"Sorry Haru, guess we're stuck here for awhile."

"It's fine, but I am kind of thirsty." Haru gave a look that implied that they wanted to walk to the next town to get a drink. Makoto was almost on board with the idea, until he realized that they ran the risk of leaving the car behind, and it getting stolen.

_Ugh, I really hate the idea of letting Haru go all by himself, but I guess I'll have to if he's really that desperate_. The emerald eyed teen voiced his thoughts to Haru, who nodded in agreement. Haru turned and began to walk away, when he heard Makoto call out to him.

"Make sure you're at least back before sunset!" he called out. Haru nodded back at him, but when he turned away, he couldn't help but smile at Makoto's unnecessary worry. Haru was used to walking alone, after all. Haru's smile was replaced by a bitter frown when he realized just how depressing that thought was.

_But I won't be alone anymore. Makoto will be by my side_.

Surprisingly, it didn't take Haru as long as he thought to reach the next town. However, this was nothing like he expected. The town was even quieter and less busy than Iwatobi, and that sense of creepiness was still there. Haru swallowed a lump in his throat and looked around the almost vacant town. He walked to the nearest convenience store and peeked his head inside. Haru was relieved when all there was was a cashier and and a couple of aisles lined with food. He picked up two water bottles (one for him and one for Makoto) and a random bag of fish crackers off of a shelf, and paid with what money Makoto and him had brought along for the ride. Even though he didn't really want to leave the comfort of the convenience store, he knew he had to get back to Makoto. Haru had felt kind of bad that he had just left Makoto there alone, with no protection or anything.

_I better get back quick before it gets dark. Makoto's probably already worried._ he decided as he walked through the eerily quiet town. Suddenly, a sound that sounded like a rustle to his right caught his attention, and he was slightly startled. He looked to see that a bush was the source of the noise. His curiosity levels were on the rise as he cautiously peeked into the bush, only to reveal a small, black cat that had made his way in there. Haru was relieved, but still was curious as to why there was a random cat sitting in the bush. Until he heard what sounded to him like a battle cry coming from behind the bush. Before he even had any time to react, Haru was tackled to the ground by a complete stranger, most likely the one who let out the cry in the first place. Haru finally looked up to see who his attacker was, only to be met with a surprise. The stranger was extremely short, and blonde. He had light fuchsia eyes which sparkled with determination as he panted heavily.

"I finally got you!" he shouted victoriously. He then paid more close attention to what he had captured, and his expression turned from victorious to disappointed. "Aww, you're not the black cat." he got off of Haru, dusted himself off, and offered a hand to the still astonished black haired teen. Haru took it, and was slightly surprised by how strong this boy was. How old was this guy anyway? He had the strength of a sixteen year old, but had the appearance of a tall nine year old.

"Hey, are you okay? Did I really hit you that hard?" the boy asked, waving his hand in front of Haru's face. Haru shook his head, and apologized.

"My name's Haruka Nanase. But you can call me Haru." he simply said since he knew the boy was most likely going to ask. The blonde boy giggled.

"My name's Nagisa Hazuki. We both have girly names Haru-chan!" he said cheerfully. Haru could feel himself already getting a head ache from this annoying blonde, and corrected his use of '-chan.'

"But Haru-chan, we have girly names, so we have to embrace the cuteness of them!" Haru was pretty sure Nagisa was close to insane, but his energetic aura was something that was almost gravitating, and Haru couldn't help but stay by his side. Nagisa then spoke up again, bringing Haru out of his thoughts. "So, why're you here anyway? Are you lost? Or do you have to pee? People only come here for bathroom breaks and to ask directions. So which is it?" he asked a little too eagerly.

"Actually, our car broke down." Haru didn't really feel like specifying who "our" was, since Nagisa would most likely ask anyway. And- big surprise- he did ask.

"Ooh I see! Well I can call a tow truck company then! There's a local guy whose really cool! And who is the other people or person you're with?"

"Just a friend. We're... searching for something," Haru didn't feel very comfortable telling a complete stranger quite yet what they were searching for, so 'searching' seemed like the appropriate term. Nagisa seemed to sense Haru's sudden discomfort, and decided to drop the subject. But Haru didn't want to get too awkward, so he spoke up. "Uh, thanks for the tow truck offer by the way." Nagisa smiled at Haru.

"No problem Haru-chan!" Haru sighed. He almost couldn't believe he was going to have to walk back with this weirdo.

As soon as Haru came into Makoto's view, he was going to call out to him in excitement. That was until he noticed there was someone with him, and his excitement turned to confusion. When they approached Makoto, he questioned the blonde's sudden appearance.

"He's going to help us. He knows a local tow truck company." Haru responded. Makoto was once again happy.

"Ah, I see. Thank you. What's your name by the way? Mine's Makoto Tachibana."

"Nagisa Hazuki! Looks like Mako-chan has a girly name too!" Nagisa said way too enthusiastically for what Makoto was used to. "But anyway, Haru-chan told me that you guys were searching for something. I wanna search too! Please let me help you!" Nagisa pleaded. Haru and Makoto saw nothing wrong with this proposition. After all, Nagisa had helped with their car situation. Plus he was nice enough given the fact that despite how he was strong enough to pull Haru up from laying position, he didn't beat him up knowing he was alone, so why not? However, there was still one question still weighing on Haru and Makoto's minds.

"Nagisa, won't your family be worried about you being gone?" Makoto asked gently in case it was a sore subject for Nagisa. It would seem that his prediction was right, for he swore he could sense the slightest bit of sadness in Nagisa's voice when he said,

"No, I'm sure they won't worry about me at all," Makoto was truly worried about Nagisa's situation.

"Nagisa, are you sure-" But he was interrupted.

"Mako-chan, it's fine, really. I do this kind of stuff all the time! Besides, I'm 15 years old, so I can go with you guys! You guys are 16, right?" To say that Haru and Makoto were astonished was an understatement, and for two reasons too. Number one, holy shit this kid is 15? And two, how could he guess their ages so incredibly accurately? Nagisa laughed at their expressions.

"You guys should close your mouths before you catch flies. Now let's go!" he said as he marched on ahead. Haru and Makoto just looked at each other incredulously. This kid was the definition of quirky, that was for damn sure. But at the same time, they could feel that their bond as a group would soon grow.


	7. Another New Friend

Eventually, the tow truck came and made sure the boys would be on their merry little ways. While that was happening, Haru and Makoto had filled Nagisa in on what was going on, making him even more determined to find out what was happening to Haru as soon as possible. It was beginning to get a little dark however, and Makoto figured that they should stop by the nearest town or city to get some rest. They were now half way to Haru's house site, and so far, the journey had been smooth sailing. It seemed like things were going the way everyone had wanted.

When they reached the next town, Makoto parked by a small, cheap looking motel. He wasn't too concerned, even though most motels on this side of Japan were known to have bugs, but they couldn't help it, because that's all they could afford (without sleeping in the car, which no one wanted to do anyway). As soon as they got checked in, they were relieved to see that the motel was relatively clean. They even had western toilets at that place, which Nagisa excitedly flushed over and over again. Makoto and Haru figured it would be best to get out of there before Nagisa caused anymore trouble, so the trio decided to go on a night stroll through the town. There were still some people up and about, which made them feel comfortable going around. At one point, they passed by delicious looking food carts that happened to be open. They weren't particularly hungry, but Nagisa seemed to be extremely parched for god knows what reason. So Makoto and Haru found themselves buying four water bottles for the short blonde, all of which were gone in under a minute. Nagisa seemed to be getting weirder and weirder to the both of them, but they decided to just roll with it. After all, it had been the most fun all three had had in awhile. Haru loved looking up at the night time stars, and they reminded him of the blanket of stars back in Iwatobi. He even wished upon a few, just for the hell of it. Makoto saw that dreamy look in Haru's eyes, and decided to pester him about it for once.

"Hey Haru, what're you thinking about?" Haru was a bit startled by Makoto's sudden question, but answered anyway. Nagisa listened in as well.

"Just wishes."

"Huh? Wishes? You mean like wishing on the stars?" Makoto looked at him with a curious gleam in his emerald orbs while Nagisa grinned, and Haru nodded. Makoto smiled. "That sounds fun. I think I'll do it too."

"Yeah, me too!"

Haru watched as Makoto and Nagisa both closed their eyes, getting content looks on their faces. Haru smiled as well as he looked at Makoto.

_All the color has returned to his face,_ he observed silently, satisfied at the change. Suddenly, the serenity of the night was disturbed by a loud yell of, "I have to go to the bathroom!" courtesy of Nagisa. Makoto couldn't help but chuckle as he told him that they'd wait for him right were they were at until he got back. Nagisa nodded and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to the bathroom.

By the time Nagisa had gotten there, he had nearly peed himself trying to get the zipper on his pants down. Suddenly he was regretting drinking four bottles of water so fast. But all's well that ends well for the short boy, and he found himself making his way out of the bathroom satisfied. Nagisa was about to run back to Haru and Makoto to tell them about almost peeing his pants on the way over, when he soon realized that he was completely and utterly lost. His feeling of satisfaction was soon replaced with fear as he tried to remember the route that he took to the bathroom.

_Oh no! I had to go so badly that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings!_ he thought as a feeling of panic creeped over him like a snake. He desperately scanned the area all around, looking for someone to talk to. Eventually, his sights were rewarded by a lone teen sitting on a bench. He seemed to be gazing up at the stars. But all this wasn't important to Nagisa. All that mattered was that he got help. He ran over to the boy on the bench, calling out to him.

"Um, excuse me! Can you help me with something?" he shouted as he got closer to him. The boy turned around to face Nagisa, and said blonde froze temporarily. He had never seem such an eccentric combination of colors on someone's face in his life. This guy's hair was blue like the deeper part of the ocean, with his glasses being red to compliment it. But his eyes were stunning amethysts, and Nagisa was immediately intrigued by this person, just by his facial features. He soon snapped out of it though, remembering that he was lost.

"Well, what is it?" the stranger asked, growing impatient with Nagisa.

"I'm, uh, a little lost. Can you help me find my way back?" he asked a little sheepishly. The teen's expression softened a bit as he agreed.

"Do you know where your family is?" Nagisa felt his heart stop momentarily at Rei's question, but regained his composure.

"No, I don't. But I'm pretty sure they're somewhere up there." he said, pointing North of where they were. He also almost corrected the blue haired teen when he asked about his "family." But as Nagisa walked alongside his new found friend, chattering up a storm, he thought to himself,

_Yeah. Haru-chan and Mako-chan are a good family for me._

Finally, after about two hours of walking, the blue haired boy and Nagisa reached Makoto and Haru. Makoto was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, for Nagisa had been gone for so long. He thanked the blue haired stranger, and asked his name whilst telling his and Haru's names.

"Rei Ryugazaki. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Rei said, and bowed. He then added, "On the way over here, I believe Nagisa-kun mentioned that Haruka was looking for something, and that's why you were here. Is this correct?" Haru honestly didn't want another person to join their group, and was almost mad at Nagisa for telling Rei about it in the first place. But then, Rei proposed something interesting.

"Haruka, I may only be 15 years old, but I actually am working my way up to becoming a detective, or a private investigator. I don't mean to come off as cocky or over confident in the least, but my skills are quite impeccable, and I feel as if I could be of some assistance in this endeavor of yours. I'm assuming it requires a lot of clue finding, which I am quite skillful at. If you would let me join your party, I would be happy to assist you in anyway possible." Rei stated, pushing up his glasses confidently. While Haru tried to wrap his brain around everything Rei just said (because dang he'd never heard so many big words in one explanation in his entire life), Makoto silently checked Rei for trustworthiness. Nagisa had been easy to trust to Makoto because of his easy going demeanor, and the fact that he hadn't mugged Haru, and helped them get on their way. But Rei was a little bit harder for Makoto to read. He had a very serious expression, which wasn't actually bad. However, he wasn't sure whether Rei was planning something bigger by what he had just rambled on about.

_Well, he was able to bring Nagisa back to us, and unharmed. That's got to count for something. And he seemed like he was pretty convincing in his speech. Maybe he's an uptight guy? Well, I guess I'll just have to see what Haru says_. Makoto turned his head to look at said boy, who seemed to be contemplating everything Rei had said too. He finally looked over to Makoto for a final decision, and Makoto smiled, letting Haru know that Rei was okay. Haru then turned to Nagisa, who seemed really enthusiastic about Rei joining. Haru finally turned to the blue haired boy and nodded his approval. Nagisa gave out a cheer, and jumped on Rei.

"Ow! Nagisa-kun! I told you you couldn't jump me! I can't hold your weight!" Rei protested. Nagisa only laughed.

"Sure you can! Just look at you right now." In reality, Rei was on the verge of collapsing, but Nagisa continued to hold on to him, laughing. Makoto and Haru just looked at each other and smiled despite themselves. It seemed that adding Rei to their party was a good idea after all. However, just like with Nagisa, Makoto had to ask Rei about his family. He was still slightly paranoid about Nagisa's family coming after them, but after a few hours of being on the road, he really had to wonder what was happening. He wondered if it was the same for Rei.

"Rei, is this alright with your family?" Suddenly Rei stopped paying attention to the blonde hanging off of him, and answered Makoto's question.

"Yes. My family has full support of my decision." he answered quickly.

_A little bit too quickly_. both Haru and Makoto thought at the same time. But it was obvious that Rei was enthusiastic about enhancing his skills for the future, so they didn't question it. It was weird really, how all the sudden there was a group of teenage boys who weren't even legally allowed to leave the house traveling together. It was like fate decided that Makoto shouldn't have at least asked where each of the two new boys lived, and accepted them anyway. Or maybe, that was him trying to make new friends after living years without proper people to grow close with.

But in that moment, all four of the boys, each with their own struggles and triumphs, connected with each other in a way no one could describe. They knew that by traveling together, they could do anything.


	8. Love (pt 1)

Split into two parts because one chapter would be too long to fit all of this in. So this chapter is what Mako and Haru did, and next chapter is what happened with Nagi and Rei.

* * *

About a day and a half later, Haru was almost to his old home. The group was parked just outside of the main city, where Haru used to go shopping for bread and occasional other items with his mom. A sense of nostalgia overtook Haru as he wandered through the busy area with his friends, mostly in search of a place to stay for the night before they drove the last stretch to their destination. But as Haru looked more and more around, he he noticed things that he hadn't before. For example, a couple of the stores that used to be in the city were now replaced with other more modernized stores. Or the fact that it had seemed that the city had expanded while he was gone. The more he looked around, the less recognizable it seemed, and a new thought emerged in his brain:

_Maybe we should look for clues in the older parts of the city. There has to be some people with at least some rumors as to what happened_. With that thought out of the way, Haru called out to his friends, prompting them to turn and give him their full attention.

"After we get to the motel, we should spilt up and search for clues. Someone here is bound to have some sort of rumor, or article, or something on what happened." All three of the others smiled in approval, and Rei even provided his commentary.

"I was just thinking the same thing. In fact, I noticed two police stations and a library with access to old newspapers on the way here." Haru was surprised that he had even noticed that type of thing, but since Rei was working on becoming a detective in the future, he supposed that it wasn't that hard to believe.

"Rei-chan is really smart!" Nagisa said as he attempted, for the billionth time, to jump on Rei and make him give him a piggy back ride. If Rei wasn't already flustered by Nagisa's compliment, he was now irritated by his blonde friend's annoying habit of randomly jumping on him. Oh, and the fact that he once again called him 'Rei-chan,' which was very unbecoming of a future detective.

"Nagisa-kun, I told you already that I'd let you ride on my back if you asked." Rei said, almost blushing when he realized how weird that sounded. Truth be told, Rei had a small soft spot for the shorter male. Maybe it was the fact that he constantly kept Rei company, or the fact that he looked up to him. Whatever it was the two had developed a connection like Makoto and Haru had. Even Haru and Makoto noticed this, and had to hold back their smiles. But all that aside, Rei also had agreed to splitting up. The only question was, who would split up with who? The answer was pretty obvious though.

"I wanna go with Rei-chan!" Nagisa said, grabbing Rei's hand. Rei sighed, and didn't protest for once. He was most likely in the middle of accepting his fate. With the sides chosen, the four agreed that they'd spend the rest of the time searching for a cheap motel.

After getting their belongings in their motel, they agreed to meet back at the motel by 5:30. This was because when they checked the weather, it predicted a high chance of thunderstorms by about that time.

"Alright, let's go!" Nagisa declared as he set off with Rei, who protested the pace at which Nagisa was leading him. Makoto only rolled his eyes at the ridiculous pair and chuckled lightly, while telling Haru to come along.

It was about an hour and a half later when it began to rain. It was barely 5:00, and Makoto worried that the storm would come earlier than expected. Unfortunately for them however, it had seemed that they had gotten lost, and had found nothing so far. Haru silently walked beside Makoto, shivering from the cold. Although he was fond of water, he wasn't particularly fond with rain. It was cold and nasty, not gentle like pool or bath water on a sunny day. It only took a few minutes for a certain brunette haired boy to notice the slight shiver in Haru, and the black haired teen soon felt the warmth of the taller man's jacket on him. He turned to Makoto quizzically, and Makoto could already tell what he was asking.

"It's fine Haru, I don't get cold easily. In fact, I tend to keep in a lot of body heat." Makoto barely got the word "heat" out before he suddenly felt Haru push right up against him while they walked. If Makoto didn't know any better, he'd say that Haru was trying to cuddle up against him for warmth. Haru seemed to know this too, for he turned away with a small blush tinting his pale cheeks. But at the same time, both could sense that they wouldn't mind doing this during chilly days. It was odd how this feeling was accompanied by quickly beating hearts, and thoughts wondering if this was considered love. It seemed like they had acted like a married couple over the past couple months of living together. But they couldn't acknowledge these feelings quite yet, and Makoto chose to just wrap his arms around the smaller teen, hoping to warm him up.

"Better?"

"Better."

The two walked on in silence, occasionally stopping to ask people for what they knew, before deciding to head back to the city, in hopes of not being too lost. So far, all the information that they had gathered wasn't very helpful. See, there was a small library center in one part of the city which had access to old newspapers, just like Rei had mentioned briefly. But the newspaper only had two key things they were looking for, and that was the names of both killers. Yes, two people were involved. However, another rumor that they had heard suggested that the two murders were part of something bigger. Kind of like an organization, but smaller and not as well known. Still, it raised a lot of important questions, like why would they go after Haru's parents? It couldn't be that they had hidden anything form him...

Could they?

Suddenly, Haru felt sick. He just wanted to go back to town and go to sleep, and maybe even try to remember what his parents had always done when he was little.

_Could there have been a room or closet that I wasn't allowed to go in?_ He tried concentrating as hard as he could, but simply couldn't remember. Then, he heard a low rumble in the sky. Haru sighed in frustration. As if he couldn't concentrate already, now this? He was about to turn and tell Makoto to come with him, when he noticed that he had walked a whole ten feet in front of his green eyed companion. Haru could feel his heart stop as he gazed at Makoto's horrified expression. Another louder rumble made its way across the sky, causing Makoto to give out a small yelp in fear.

_Wait, don't tell me Makoto's afraid-_ Haru didn't even have time to finish his thought before a white streak of light streaked its way across the sky, and Makoto trembled so hard that Haru was afraid he'd collapse. So he took action and dragged Makoto under an abandoned building, all while the latter whimpered like an abused puppy. Haru didn't know what to do. He had tried hugging Makoto, patting his back, and even whispering soft words of reassurance in his ear to help him calm down. But it seemed that Makoto was beginning to go into hysterics, so Haru did the only thing that was left to do.

He kissed Makoto.

The kiss had only lasted about five seconds, but after he pulled away, Makoto had stopped crying. Both of their hearts were pounding loudly in their chests as they turned away from each other in embarrassment.

"S-sorry. It was... It was-"

"I know. I-it's okay Haru."

The duo just sat there awkwardly for a few minutes as the storm above them raged on, contemplating their feelings. Interestingly enough, the feeling that they had felt so many times before when they were bonding came back, this time with a greater intensity.

_Is this what love feels like?_ both wondered as they turned to face each other again. Now they could definitely, with a 99% guarantee, determine that it was true that they had both cared for each other over the past few months they had been together, and some of the things that they did could be looked upon as couple things. Maybe they had been in love and didn't even realize it, they both thought. But the more they pondered about it, the more sense it made. Because at that moment, both wondered if they could spend the rest of their lives together. However, at the same time, they didn't want to rush it too much.

"Haru. We... don't have to rush this, okay?" Makoto said, almost embarrassed at the cheesiness of his sentence. But Haru only nodded in agreement, wrapping his arms around the taller boy.

"Okay. But remember, I still have to take care of you." Makoto smiled a warm smile and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy.

"And I still have to take care of you."

By the time the rain and the thunder had died down, Makoto and Haru made their way back to the motel, hand in hand. When they approached the entrance, they saw Nagisa and Rei waiting for them. When Nagisa noticed them, he jumped up and down.

"Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Where were you guys? We've been waiting for ten minutes!" Makoto smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, we got a little lost." Nagsia seemed to be okay with that explanation, and proceeded to ramble on about their discoveries.

"Haru-chan, we didn't find a lot, but we found something super important from the police station. You'll be so happy when you hear what it is!" Haru's heart pounded as he thought of their discoveries.

_What could they have possibly found?_


	9. Love (pt 2)

While Haru and Makoto had split up in the direction of east, Nagisa and Rei had gone in the west part of town, unfortunately home to some of the newer areas.

_How are we going to find old information with new buildings? Maybe we should've let Haruka and Makoto take this route instead_. the blue haired teen thought, rubbing his temples in frustration. Well, at least they had the old police station. They knew for a fact that the police had records of everything that had happened in the history of that town. They also knew that it was most likely going to be a bitch to get, since they weren't Haru, or even his family. Rei nearly groaned in frustration.

_I knew I should've double checked everything before I left!_ But it was kind of hard to concentrate when Nagisa was constantly pestering him with chatter. He turned to face said blonde, and continued to only half listen to his ramblings. He thought it was kind of pretty how when Nagisa was enthusiastic about something, his fuchsia eyes would light up, and sparkle with excitement. Rei smiled in spite of himself, then frowned again.

_Since when did I consider anything about Nagisa beautiful? That way of thinking is disgusting_. he told himself. Yet every few seconds, he found himself glancing over at his small companion, just to see his eyes light up.

Nagisa, on the other hand, loved seeing Rei's many emotions the more he talked. He thought it was funny how Rei got so many facial expressions on his face. He liked a lot of things about Rei. He was smart, and fun to talk to, even if he didn't talk back most of the time. Plus, he was kind of attractive.

_Wait. Attractive? Is Rei-chan into boys?_ He decided that he'd test it out.

"Rei-chan, I think you're beautiful, no matter what anyone says," Somehow, it felt so right for Nagisa to say this. He felt like he couldn't possibly say this to any other boy or girl. Just his Rei-chan. He then added for good measure, "If I could date anyone, you'd be my first choice!" As far as romantic feelings went, Nagisa wasn't exactly 100% sure about what he felt. There was definitely some attraction in there though, and he wanted to let Rei know right away. However, this proved to be a big mistake on Nagisa's part. Rei was just stood there, frozen. He almost looked flustered, and a bit... angry? Almost like he was remembering something that made him that way. Finally, he pushed his glasses up and spoke. There was a slight edge to his voice.

"Nagisa, I'm flattered that you think that, but you really shouldn't be thinking those types of things about other men." Rei said, then turned and began walking again. Nagisa was dumbfounded.

_How can he, out of all the people in the world, think like that? I thought Rei-chan would be more smart_. Nagisa thought as he trudged on ahead. Nagisa's definition of 'smart' was obviously different from everyone else's, but still, he never imagined that Rei would be so... homophobic. It made him just a little bit sad.

The two walked on in an uncomfortable silence until they reached the police station. It had began to rain as soon as they approached it, and Rei finally had found the conversation starter her was looking for, to make up for the loss of talk on the way over.

"It sure is a good thing you brought your coat." he said facepalming at his own attempt to start a conversation. Truth be told, he just wanted to see Nagisa's eyes light up again, just so he knew he was happy. But the blonde only nodded, and looked even more hurt than he had before. He even went so far as to pull his coat down over his hands, as if he was trying subtly to get Rei to stop talking. Rei sighed and walked toward the counter where a police man was stationed. Time to get this over with.

Four arguments and three jail time threats later, they finally got access to the files they wanted. It was tough, especially how Nagisa got riled up at the very end and nearly punched the police man in the face trying to convince him why they were trustworthy.

_I have no idea how we did it, but we did_. Rei thought, and sighed in relief as he leafed through the file. Finally, he came across the incident part of the file, and set the rest down, like he was told he had to by the police man. He scanned the file while Nagisa double checked for anything that he potentially could've missed. The more he read, the more he gathered.

_The two that were arrested were Hibiki Takahashi and Kuro Tsuki. Both males worked for a higher organization that Haruka's parents were associated with, but refused to give the name no matter what method of confessing they used. All they know is that this association wanted a large sum of Haruka's parent's money for a highly illegal drug they were working on,_ Rei grimaced. _Drug? What kind of drug takes millions of dollars to make? And why would they go so far as to murder people for it? Most likely in hopes of making them rich_. The more Rei thought, the more the wheels in his head began to turn, and in time, he knew what he had to do. Get to Haru's house, then try once again to bring up an old court case that was dropped long ago. With this information in hand, he told Nagisa all he found, and Nagisa was really impressed. He even gave Rei a compliment, which Rei had not heard in awhile. He sighed and looked uncomfortably at his pink eyed companion.

"Nagisa-kun, I'm sorry for what I said before. I know it's not wrong to think that way, but it's a little weird. But honestly, it doesn't bother me either. You're the first friend I've had in a long time. So please, just be happy and stop worrying." It didn't take long for Nagisa's face to turn completely upwards into a bright, cheerful smile, and he stepped forward to hug Rei. He nuzzled the taller teen, and spoke.

"Rei-chan, thank you. And I think I like you. A lot. I've never met someone like you, and I've met a whole lot of people!" Nagisa confessed, getting Rei flustered yet again. Nagisa thought back to when he first saw the blue haired teen sitting on the bench, and how he was intrigued right away by Rei's facial features. He almost thought it was love at first sight. Rei however, wasn't exactly sure about being together with him after only knowing the short boy for barely a day. But he supposed there was no harm in trying. Besides, Nagisa had brought some light into his dull life. He wished it could be that way forever.

"Okay, I will accept. But no public displays of affection." Rei said sternly. Nagisa gave a loud whoop and attempted to jump on Rei, which ended disastrously. But despite Rei's protesting cries, he couldn't help but think that this was the person who was changing him from super serious to almost more relaxed, and in only a couple days.

_I like it this way_. he decided as the duo walked out of the police station.

"Where are they, Rei-chan?" Nagisa whined. They had been waiting for Haru and Makoto for five minutes now, which almost made it 5:35. Rei didn't have a clue either, but he thought that he shouldn't be too worried. After all, sometimes people were late, and they couldn't help it. Luckily, the two soon showed up, and Nagisa had informed them of their findings. Rei was proud of himself when he saw the look on Haru's face, suggesting that he was happy. Makoto looked at him and smiled too, telling Rei that he had done a fine job.

_But of course, Nagisa's constant support played a role in this as well_. Rei had to admit to himself. He had never met a person quite like Nagisa, but he had a feeling that their slowly developing relationship would reveal a little more about the intriguing boy.

Later that night, the four boys all crawled into their beds, exhausted from a long, tiring day of searching. Makoto could feel Haru snuggle right up against him, for warmth, he insisted. But Makoto only wrapped his arms around him and whispered a soft good night.

Rei on the other hand, was not much of a cuddlier. But when Nagisa crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around his neck, he couldn't help but stay there, enjoying the silent connection between them. They whispered good night to each other, and soon all four were asleep, dreaming of tomorrow.


	10. So Close, Yet So Far

Finally, _finally,_ the group had reached the house. It was surprisingly still was not touched, even after all these years. Although the weather and other elements of nature had done its share of wear and tear over the years, there was still some things that they could probably dig up if they tried. So, that's exactly what they did. Considering Haru hadn't had any dreams of memories from the last night, he figured that bringing up old relics and other items would trigger some sort of memory.

But after a few hours of digging, they were hopelessly stuck with no new evidence. All they had found was a couple random bits of what appeared to be gold and bronze scraps of metal, most likely melted from the fire.

_That's not going to help us at all_. Haru thought, staring down at the scraps in his hands. He sat down on a pile of rubble and thought for a second. The house had been burned down, yet there was still some scraps of metal left over. But none of the scraps were from anything important, because Haru had remembered that he had gotten all the important stuff before he left, or at least what he thought was of importance.

_Wait a second!_

Haru reached into his coat pocket and fished out two items of importance. His father's wrist watch and his mother's necklace, which happened to have a small locket on it. The other members of the group looked over to see Haru holding a necklace and wristwatch. They were both extremely expensive looking, but Haru didn't seem to care about that. He had a glimmer in his ocean eyes that no one quite knew how to place. They saw the wheels in his head turning though, and they could tell a great deal of thinking was happening.

"We need to go to the jewelry store." he finally said. All three gaped at him.

"E-excuse me?" Makoto asked in disbelief, not really sure of what he just heard. Haru repeated himself, the pointed at his expensive looking items as if to say, 'it has something to do with these.' Makoto wasn't 100% clear on why Haru felt the need to have those inspected, but he could tell Haru was determined.

An hour later, they were at the nearest jewelry store, with three of them still having no idea what was going on. Haru walked up to the counter and placed the two items of interest in front of the clerk. The clerk looked quizzically at Haru, until he said,

"You can take things like this apart, right?" The clerk nodded, and went to the back part of the store for tools. Suddenly, everything made sense to the boys. It was just like in the old detective movies, where a very essential clue was hidden in a piece of jewelry, more specifically,_ a locket_. The locket, however, was pretty stubborn to crack open, and the watch still held some potential given how unusually bulky it was (then again, Haru didn't know much about any type of accessories, so this was an educated guess on his part). When the jeweler returned with the tools he needed, he began to take apart each item carefully. By the time he was done, the clerk was slightly astonished by what he had found. Inside the watch was one scrap of paper, in the watch was another. He had never expected in all of his years of taking things apart that he'd find anything important. The four thanked the man and quickly walked out of the store, inspecting the slips. Upon closer inspection, they both had numbers on them:

七ー五ー六

and

5,000,000

Some observations were made. First, the first paper had dashes in between the kanji that was written, indicating that it was a code to a safe.

_But why would it be written in kanji? Everyone can read numbers just fine_. Haru thought. Rei however, wasn't stumped in the slightest.

"Haruka, I think we may be dealing with foreigners. Most people from other countries can't read the number kanjis because most of the time, Japan already has numbers set up for them. Very smart on your parents' part. As for the other one, I have no idea. It could even be a red herring for all we know." he said, with a hint of frustration in his tone.

"But why would it be in there if it wasn't important?" Nagisa asked.

"You could be right, but at the same time, Haru's parents could've put it in there to throw people off." Makoto answered, putting his hand to his chin in deep concentration. Haru tried to remember as hard as he could what safe his parents could've possibly had. Unless...

_If you go in the basement, don't touch or open the door leading in the ground. It's very dirty, okay Haru?_

The sudden memory hit him like a wave, and he spoke up, catching everyone's attention.

"I just remembered something. There was a door I wasn't supposed to touch when I was younger. It's probably still here somewhere..." But at the same time, something was wrong with Haru. No matter how much his brain told him to look, he couldn't force his body to move. He thought of how ridiculous he was being, but there was a reason for this. "But, I don't know if I want to find it yet." he said, looking at the ground almost dejectedly. The others began to get concerned, and asked what was wrong. Truth be told, Haru was feeling a little bit... conflicted right now. He wanted to avenge his parent's death, but at the same time, he felt betrayed by their lack of trust. He needed a moment to gather his thoughts, and maybe mentally prepare himself for what he may hear in the future. He voiced his thoughts out to everyone, and they all nodded in understanding.

"It's fine, Haru. I would've been pretty uncomfortable if my parents hid something from me. But they were only trying to protect you." Makoto said, with a gentle tone and a smile to match. Although Haru appreciated Makoto's words of reassurance greatly, he felt that they weren't appropriate for how he was feeling.

"I know Makoto, but I don't think your family has anything to hide. At least they're perfectly honest with you." No sooner had the words come out of Haru's mouth had he regretted what he said, for Makoto got the saddest smile he had ever seen on someone's face. It hurt him to see his new found lover hurt.

"I'm sorry Makoto. I didn't mean to bring up your family-" But Makoto only continued to smile.

"It's okay, really. I know I wouldn't understand how you felt. After all, our situations are different." Haru wasn't exactly okay with Makoto's answer, but he stuck with it, afraid to say anything else he'd regret. Then, Nagisa spoke up, but not with his usual cheeriness.

"If it makes you feel better, Haru-chan, my family isn't picture perfect either," It surprised the three how tiny and hurt he sounded. Nagisa only smiled bitter sweetly. "Guess I should explain, huh. Well first," The short blonde lifted up his shirt and rolled up his jacket sleeves, along with his jeans. The others gasped in surprise as they saw the multitude of scars and bruises that lined his stomach, legs, back, and arms.

"N-nagisa, what happened?" Rei asked, going into panic mode.

"It's fine. It's just, my family... well, my mom had too many babies to handle. I have three other sisters, and because it's so expensive to take care of us all, dad takes his anger out on us," He started to sniffle, prompting Rei to go over and comfort him. "Mom's too busy drinking her problems away to see the blood in the hallway. That's why I'm so happy that I came with you guys. I don't wanna deal with it anymore." Nagisa couldn't hold his tears back anymore, and let out large sobs while Rei rubbed his back. Haru and Makoto were shocked beyond belief, and both thought back to their mantra of 'someone out there has it worse than you do.' After Nagisa calmed down, he apologized for his rambling, which everyone else objected to.

"You never have to apologize for telling something as serious as that." Makoto stated. Surprisingly, Rei was the next to speak.

"I guess I can't keep this in any longer then. One of the main reasons I came with all of you is because I was kicked out of my home. For being gay." he said, with a hint of timidness. And suddenly, Rei's previous homophobic behavior toward Nagisa became crystal clear.

"Rei-chan, I'm sorry! I didn't know-" But Rei only hushed Nagisa, telling him that it was okay. As all the boys comforted each other and told each other their problems, they all thought,

_This is what a family is supposed to be like_.

After that session, it was decided that now more than ever, Haru needed to find the truth of what happened on that night those two fateful years ago. And no matter what, they'd help until the end.


	11. Piecing it Together

It took about three days to get the court's approval for digging up on the site, but when they did, they were ecstatic to find the safe they had been looking for. Although it was a bit old and rusty, the safe was still in a condition in which the boys could put the code in and force the door open. When they forced the door open, they were astonished by what they had discovered.

"Haruka, where did your parents get all this money?" Rei exclaimed. Haru was pretty shocked himself.

"I... didn't know we had this much." His mind raced at a million miles per hour with thought. _Why did mom and dad have this much anyway? What could we need this for? Could it have something to do with with the drug, or the other organization?_ Haru was nearly frustrated at his own wandering mind, and decided pondering too much was a bad idea. Instead, he busied himself with counting the money. When he finished, the grand total was ¥4,995,736. This was a seemingly normal number, until Rei used his deduction skills to prove otherwise.

"This is close to the number on the other scrap of paper. So it must represent the money in the safe, or the money that _was_ in the safe. Or maybe even the goal amount of money they were trying to raise. Whatever it is, we have to get the evidence to the court." Nagisa and Haru nodded in agreement. But Makoto looked kind of unsure.

"I know we have to get it to the court for evidence, but Haru touched it, which means his fingerprints are on it now too. Also, how is this going to prove that Hibiki and Kuro did it?" Rei wasted no time responding.

"I know this may sound kind of unfair, but we'll have to resort to bribing them with the money in order to get them to confess. As for Haru's fingerprints, we'll most likely be able to get away with us telling the judge that you, me, and Nagisa-kun were all witnesses, and we saw Haruka touching the money, and that it's not stolen." Haru was pretty impressed with Rei, his thought process was quite a miracle for a fifteen year old to have obtained, even if it wasn't always completely correct. He looked over to Makoto, who seemed to be impressed too. Nagisa complimented him, like always, and like always, Rei got extremely flustered. It was the same almost every time a serious discussion was had, but it never failed to make Haru happy every time.

When the four finally arrived back at the court house, they were all more nervous than when they had first arrived.

"Hey Rei-chan, do you remember when we first came here and you were so nervous that you messed up your words and you called the judge 'mom' instead of-"

"Shut up!"

A few hours later, much the group's irritation, the court was _finally_ ready to hear what the four boys discovered. They gathered the money and placed it on counter facing the judge, who raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued. Rei was first to speak.

"The two criminals you caught but never actually placed in jail, Kuro Tsuki and Hibiki Takahashi, are in fact the killers. We have a way to prove it, but we're going to need their participation. I trust you still know where they live?" The judge looked sternly down on Rei.

"I do. However, negotiations will need to be made, since I'm sure the two will not come willingly."

"All the more reason to bring them in." was Makoto's input. Nagisa nodded enthusiastically in agreement. The judge sighed, as if exasperated with the boys already.

"Alright. Just give me some time and I will bring them here." he said, dismissing them with a wave. Even though the boys were annoyed with the judge's passive mood, they were all silently cheering for the fact that the case had been re-accepted. As they turned to leave, the man gave one last shout.

"Make sure the media doesn't catch wind of this, okay? This case is bigger than you think." The judge's tone seemed more... solemn this time? The boys couldn't place it, but they agreed that it would be a lot of trouble if the media got involved this early in the case.

The four passed the time by going to local places around the court house and window shopping. Makoto held Haru's hand as they walked past a pawn shop, and they stopped to look.

"Look Haru!" Makoto said, pointing to a blue stone shaped like a dolphin. Makoto gave his signature gentle smile, commenting on how cute it looked. Haru felt himself blush a little bit, and he slowly approached Makoto, embracing him. He felt Makoto's arms wrap around his torso, and felt his warm breath on his neck.

"It'll be alright, Haru. One way or another, we'll find out the truth." Haru was almost surprised that Makoto knew what he had been thinking the entire time, but soon remembered that he had always done that, since the time they first met.

"Makoto, do you remember the first time we met? When I knocked on your door to ask you how the paper was?" Makoto chuckled.

"Yes. Why?"

"I was lying about that. I just wanted to see how you were doing." This only made Makoto laugh and ruffle his smooth, black hair.

"Why're you bringing that up now Haru?" Haru felt his cheeks heat up.

"I actually don't know." he admitted. Makoto's grin was so wide he could've split his face in two, and he had a hard time trying not to laugh.

"Haru, that's so cute." Makoto teased, and Haru turned away in embarrassment.

"No it's not. Don't say stuff like that." he mumbled. He regretted speaking in the first place, but Makoto never stopped smiling.

"Whatever you say." Haru would never admit it, but in the end, he actually secretly enjoyed Makoto's teasing.

They were called back in the house 20 minutes later, and with two new clients to join their discussion. Yes, Kuro and Hibiki were finally in Haru's presence. After two years, the criminals were finally in front of the victim. Haru could feel himself start to glare, but didn't want to cause too much trouble, and kept his anger to himself.

"Gentlemen," the judge said to Hibiki and Kuro. "These boys apparently have something to give you." Haru cautiously pulled out the stack of money, and he could see Hibiki was having a hard time suppressing his curiosity and excitement. Kuro on the other hand, was wide eyed with recognition. It made Haru sick, and he wanted to slap both of them right then and there. Haru's resentment did not go unnoticed by a certain emerald eyed boy, and he gave a comforting pat on the shoulder. The entire time, the judge took note of every facial expression on everybody, and was quite suspicious of the two people in question. Finally, Rei spoke up.

"This money can be all yours if you tell us who killed this boy's parents." Rei said, gesturing to Haru. Hibiki seemed to figure out what was going on and glared at Rei. He then turned to Kuro, who was in the process of opening his mouth, and smacked him on the cheek.

"Don't say anything idiot." he said, not realizing that he almost just gave himself away.

"But the boss said-" Kuro was then smacked again.

"Forget about him!" Everyone was still astonished at this sudden turn of events. But the two still refused to talk, and only argued with each other. The judge gave an exasperated sigh, and interrupted them.

"Look, I have a lot more cases to deal with that have confirmed killers, so tomorrow we can schedule a hearing. Is everyone okay with this?" Nagisa was first to speak.

"Are you kidding? That's not fair! Put these two in jail where they can't hurt anybody!" The duo in question looked offended. But the judge only shook his head.

"We can't unless we have evidence that suggests they killed Haruka's parents. And so far, they haven't confessed. So they are free to go for the time being."

"But that's an injustice!" Rei nearly shouted. The judge's agitation only grew as he shouted back and told them all to get out immediately. Angry and frustrated, the four boys left in a huff, while the two supposed criminals parted from the group. The two groups glared at each other before they split up, but Haru couldn't feel just a little bit intimidated. After all, these guys _killed_ his parents using god knows what. He felt he small squeeze on his hand, and looked up to see Makoto, whose facial expression was comforting. It was as if it was trying to reassure that it'd be alright, and they'd catch them soon. However, Haru couldn't quite bring himself to believe Makoto. It all felt too surreal to him, and his brain had a hard time processing that he had just _seen_ the people who nearly murdered him, and murdered his parents. Now those guys knew where he was, and who knows how dangerous they still could be.

_Who knows who else they've killed?_'

Haru shuddered at the thought, and with his heart racing, made his way with his friends back to Makoto's car. He needed a major break from all of this.

* * *

Just a small note: Updates may be just a little bit slower this time around, mostly because I've developed a small writer's block. But reviews keep me going, and are still appreciated! c:


	12. Trouble

With the court tied up with Haru's not so effective evidence, the group continued to travel around Haru's old home city. Unfortunately, the money that they had saved up for this whole adventure was slowly dwindling, and they feared if they stayed there for another week, they'd be broke. They still had Haru's parents' money since apparently it was their job to keep it safe (which was a load of bullshit) but since they had to keep it safe, they couldn't use it. It looked as if the group was reduced to sleeping in the car. Unfortunately, Makoto's car had piled up with random debris over the course of this adventure, and it didn't look all that appealing to sleep in. Luckily, it got slightly better when the group cleaned it out, and cleared four sleeping spaces for everyone. And anyway, it was only about dinner time, so the four didn't have to even bother trying to sleep yet.

"We should probably eat at a fast food joint." Makoto said, almost disgustedly. The others nodded almost sadly, and couldn't believe how much they'd miss eating at the wonderful, family oriented restaurants. Of course, any homeless person would scoff at how mopey they were acting. But they also couldn't help but feel happy that this whole nightmare of a case would be over soon, especially Haru, who'd been waiting for two years for the terrible memories to be put to rest permanently. And despite the fact that he didn't want to remember what horrible things had happened, he was glad to have gone on this adventure with these new friends, and even opened up enough to find love. He mentally sent a quick 'thank you' to his parents, for surely they were smiling down on him from the stars.

A few hours later, it had gotten to be nine at night, which meant the boys had to go to bed to be refreshed and ready for an early start tomorrow. Everyone was nearly ready to get into bed, when Makoto mentioned that he had to take one last bathroom break. Haru knew of Makoto's fear of the dark, and didn't hesitate to speak up.

"Makoto, will you be alright going alone?" Makoto smiled reassuringly.

"It's fine, I've got a little mini flashlight I bought awhile back." he said, reaching into his pocket and fishing out the small light to show Haru. Haru only nodded, although still slightly worried for him.

_Geez, why do the toilets have to be so far away from where we parked?_ Makoto thought, annoyed at himself. He had been walking for about seven minutes, and the more he walked, the less he could hold it. Then, as if on cue, the restrooms came into view, and Makoto sighed in relief.

_Thank God_. he thought as he ran to his destination. As soon as he approached the bathroom door, the bushes beside him rustled slightly, making him jump. But when nothing came out, he sighed in relief once again.

_There's nothing to fear._ he told himself.

Unfortunately for him, he did _not_ notice the two dark figures emerge out of the bush after he went in.

He didn't even know what had hit him as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, but it knocked him out cold.

And suddenly, his world was dark.

Haru, Rei, and Nagisa were all nervous wrecks. They had been waiting for nearly thirty minutes for Makoto to come back, and that had not happened. Haru's mind raced with 'what ifs' and 'I should'ves' before he finally couldn't take it anymore, and burst out of the car, determined to find his lost lover.

"Haru-chan! Where are you going?" Nagisa yelled.

"To find Makoto." Haru responded as he began to pick up his pace. Nagisa looked at Rei with a mutual thought of: _we should help him_. Both got out of the car and after Haru, calling out Makoto's name into the the darkening night.

Meanwhile, Makoto had just come to, and stared into the backs of two people he didn't recognize. It took a minute for the fear to kick in, but when it did, Makoto tried to yelp. He then realized in pure horror that he couldn't yelp because he was bound and gagged. However, the sudden shuffling sound Makoto made seemed to alert the two people in front of him, who had been whispering the whole time. They turned to Makoto, and his green eyes widened in terror when he recognized the duo. Hibiki smiled sinisterly, while Kuro smirked at the terrified boy.

"Hey kid, long time no see," Hibiki said as he approached Makoto, with Kuro close behind. "You know, you and your little group caused a lot of trouble for us yesterday. You guys almost got us caught. So here's the deal: I'll lure your friends in and kill you all off, you know, to keep the murder a secret." Makoto's heart pounded out of his chest, and a sea of emotions ranging from terror to fury swelled within him.

So the two _had_ murdered them after all.

Makoto desperately wanted to shout out to the group, "don't come, it's a trap!" but he couldn't do that. But aside from his disappointment in not being able to warn them, he wondered just how the two criminals expected to lure the boys in when they had no idea where they were. But as it turns out, at least from what Makoto was able to see, they were right by the bathrooms, and it was likely that the felons would be standing right by where the group would approach. Makoto could feel his stomach drop. He was not looking forward to this at all.

The trio soon caught up to the bathrooms, and all were out of breath from calling their friend's name. Haru was still determined however, and attempted to call out Makoto's name through heavy gasps. Makoto perked up when he heard it, but could only sadly watch as the two smirked evilly and made their way outside. The rest of the group gasped when they saw Kuro and Hibiki emerge from behind the bathroom building. But Haru wasn't about to back down without a fight.

"Where'd you hide him?" Haru spat out. Hibiki chuckled, only provoking Haru more.

"We have him inside. Go get him Kuro." Hibiki said, pointing to the small door behind the bathroom. Kuro went inside, grabbed his pocket knife, and dragged Makoto out. He cut the binding around his mouth, allowing Makoto to speak.

"Haru! Don't come closer, it's a trap! They're gonna ki-" But Makoto was abruptly cut off.

Literally.

He felt the sharp pain in his cheek as Kuro slid the knife across skin to shut him up. Makoto winced in pain, and Haru felt his fury rise to the highest it had ever been in his life.

"Don't you dare lay another hand on him." he growled as he began to advance toward the two men. Luckily, Rei and Nagisa stopped Haru before he made another decision he regretted.

"Haru! If you go any close they'll stab you too!" Nagisa shouted while trying to hold him back. Kuro snorted in amusement.

"No, let him come closer. After all, all you won't even live through tonight no matter what." All eyes widened in horror as the realization of what Kuro said hit them. This time, Nagisa and Rei joined Haru in advancing forward.

"We'll get you before you can get us!" Nagisa screamed, throwing a punch which connected right to Kuro's jaw. The man stumbled back in surprise, then that surprise was quickly turned into fury.

"You little punk! Hibiki, help me stab this kid!" Hibiki nodded, grabbing his knife as well. The fight was on.

It had been a dangerous four minutes for the three boys. The two men had several bruises and aching joints from the physical attacks of the boys, but the trio themselves were covered in lacerations, and even Nagisa's arm had been gashed in the process, rendering him unable to fight a good fight. Finally, when both groups were too exhausted to attack each other, Hibiki figured it was time to turn to his last resort option. He grabbed Makoto by his shirt collar and dragged him upwards, shoving him against the wall and sticking his knife against his throat. Haru gasped in horror.

"No," he whispered, trembling at the sight. "Don't do it. Please." Hibiki smirked.

"Well, give us the money and maybe your little friend won't die." he said, casually running the blade across delicate skin. It was so close the the jugular vein that Haru feared if he cut any closer, Makoto could be dead in an instant.

"Haru, no!" Makoto pleaded. Haru gulped. He truly was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He could let the killers get away for the second time, this time with money. Or he could let them kill his one special person. He looked to Nagisa and Rei for last resort options, but he remembered that Rei had to prevent Nagisa's wounds from making him bleed to death. Rei could only offer a glimmer of hope as Nagisa slipped in and out of consciousness.

_What am I supposed to do?_


	13. The Truth is Finally Revealed

"Well, what's it gonna be kid? Let your friend live? Or watch him be killed?" Hibiki asked, almost getting impatient. Haru had done a lot of thinking over the past few minutes, and he finally sighed.

"I'll give you the money." he had finally decided. He heard the horrified gasps of the three others.

"Haru, you can't!" Makoto desperately pleaded one last time. But the two felons only smiled.

"Great, you made the right choice." Makoto was dropped to the ground, and he watched as Haru took out the money from his pocket, offering it to the criminals. Kuro and Hibiki stepped forward to take the money.

But it seemed Haru had a few tricks up his sleeve after all.

As soon as they stepped forward, Haru kicked them both in the stomach at an unnatural speed, causing both to collapse and drop their knives. Haru picked up both weapons, shoved them in his pocket, and let all of his rage pour out by kicking the two men repeatedly in their heads until they lost consciousness. Once he was sure they were out, he grabbed the knife from his pocket and freed Makoto, who launched forward to hug him as soon as his arms were unbound. Haru caught his bigger lover just before they tumbled down, and wrapped his arms around the brunette tightly.

"I thought you were dead." he whispered, burying his nose in Makoto's shoulder. Makoto only smiled and sniffed.

"Yeah. Sorry Haru, I shouldn't have gone-"

"No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. Just... let's get to the police station." Makoto nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

The police were quite astounded by the appearances of the four boys and two men, and when they explained what had happened, they were even more surprised (although they really shouldn't have been, because what else would they expect from two past murderers? The group was definitely annoyed with the legal system). After receiving medical attention, they reported back the court. The court didn't even need trial to determine that the two men were definitely going to jail for good. Also, there was another thing the bad duo was required to do.

It was time for Haru to hear the truth.

He sat in front of the two men in jail, who both gave solemn looks to the boy in front of them.

"You know, we didn't mean for it to get this way," Hibiki started out, but stopped when Haru glared at him. Haru knew when someone was bullshitting him, and this was no exception. Hibiki only sighed.

"Fine, you got me. Okay, here it is. Because of you being the heir to your parent's company-"

Haru froze.

"Huh?" Heir? What the hell was Hibiki going on about? Hibiki and Kuro gaped.

"Are you telling me you didn't even know you were the heir to your parent's nearly trillion dollar company?" Haru slowly shook his head, still dazed at this new, shocking information. "Good god, what're we gonna do with you?" Hibiki said, shaking his head. "Alright, let's start from the beginning. A long time ago, before you were born, your parents created a company which had one single goal: to produce a miracle drug that could cure any disease, including AIDS and cancer. This drug needed a lot of funding though, since they needed to get their hands on any material they could get. Eventually, they raised up enough to buy extra materials for their research. The rest was kept in a safe underground, aka the money you guys somehow managed to dig up. But then it started to get frustrating for your parents to come up with finding the right combination of chemicals, so they took a break for awhile and settled down in what used to be your house. That's when they officially tied the knot and had you. All the while, they still worked on finding the drug. That's when the company Kuro and I work for showed up. See, our boss had a twisted mind, and wanted to invent a drug that made any murder look like an accident, or natural. Kuro and I were hired because we kinda had the same mindset as our boss. So we did our research, and made a prototype of that drug. However, we still needed more money to help it reach it's full potential. And our boss happened to know that your parents had a stash of money, considering he had done a lot of research on your parents before he started his project. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't trying to be creepy, he just needed to see how you got your wealth. Anyway, here's the part where it starts to get crazy. Your parents wanted you to become the heir, but didn't want you to be put in danger from people like us. So the boss decided that if we killed off everyone who was supporting this miracle drug project, he'd stop the whole line of business. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but then we were promised a lot of money, and Kuro and I agreed. Plus, the boss told us it was a good way to test the murder drug, so why not? Anyway, we snuck into your place and through some of the better technology of our company, got the pills into your parents' drinks. Now, there are a couple things you should know about the drugs we slipped in, but before I continue, are you following so far?" Haru nodded. He honestly still couldn't believe this was happening after such a long time.

"Please continue." he said as a confirmation to his nod.

"Okay. First thing's first, the drug is supposed to make you feel the pain of getting stabbed, or burned, or beaten. Second, there is actually a chemical process going on, and third, the drug leaves no traces of ever being there when done. The chemical process is that it poisons the liquids in your stomach, causing you to throw up so much that you end up throwing up blood in the process. You probably saw a lot of blood around your parents. But, the police also probably told you about the lack of bruises and cuts. That's another effect of the drug. It made it so it looked like Kuro and I didn't beat your parents up before they died, which is why they were mangled looking. But even with your parents dead, we couldn't find the safe, so we decided to look for you. But then we made the short trip upstairs, and you weren't there. So our last resort was to burn the entire house down, burning the evidence, and you. After that, we thought we had killed you," Hibiki said, then looked back up at Haru and sighing for what seemed like the billionth time. "But apparently you were still alive after all this time. And I honestly gotta say, I'm pretty damn impressed you survived this long, and took us down." he finally finished.

At this point, Haru was beyond comprehension. Waves of different emotions hit him at every angle, in every way, sparking different thoughts and ideas. It had been two years since his parents died, and finally, he had heard the whole truth. There was so much emotion coursing through him that he had no idea what to even say or do. All he could do was quietly mumble one thing.

"How do you know all of this? About my parents, I mean."

"Like I said before, our boss did a lot of research." Hibiki responded.

"How did your boss know about them?" Haru said, starting to get a little angry at the whole ordeal. Hibiki had no choice but to shrug.

"I have no idea, kid. I don't know much about him, but all I know is that the boss has given up finding the solution for the murder drug now, although I have no idea why. But listen up," Hibiki suddenly turned serious. "If you ever, _ever_, are having financial issues, or any kind of issues, do _not_ turn to something illegal to help you, okay?" Then, Haru saw a flash of sadness in his eyes. Kuro noticed it too, and spoke up for Hibiki.

"Don't be like Hibiki and I." he said, showing a sad smile to Haru. And for the first time in a long time, Haru felt something other than fury and hatred towards these people.

He felt pity.

Sure he was still angry at them, and they would most likely never, ever be forgiven. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like it wasn't 100% their fault. They were just doing what they had to to survive, just like he had in the remaining years before he had met Makoto and the rest.

See, if there was one thing Haru kept true to himself throughout the entire trip, it was the motto, 'there are people out there who have it worse than you do.' which was especially true when he met the three other friends. However, he now added two more sentences to it.

_There are people out there who have it worse than you do. But if you reach out and help them, you might just change a life. And you might even find a family to call your own_.

Later that night, Haru and the group visited his parents' makeshift graves in the south part of the city. Each member paid their respects to his mom and dad. Haru gazed up at the night sky, looking up at the blanket of stars he had wished upon so many times before. He smiled, a genuine smile for the first time in a long time, as he mentally crossed off one of the many wishes on his list.

_To find a family I can call my own_.

* * *

Good god I'm way too cheesy for my own good xD anyway, stay tuned for the epilogue~


	14. Epilogue

Eight years have passed since the day Haru learned the truth. The boys, each pair still together and doing well, have carved the paths for their futures, and live happy lives.

~_Let's take a closer look, shall we?_~

Haru studied the tube in his hand, making observations about the way every element was acting. So far, the research to the miracle drug had been a success, with only a few bumps along the way. Haru had decided that he had wanted to take over his mom and dad's company after what Hibiki had told him all those years ago. He even went so far as to go to school and learn a little bit more about chemicals and science in general. The illegal company, which he had never learned the name of, had been caught thanks to Kuro and Hibiki. He nearly lost concentration thinking about all of this, when he felt a faint buzzing in his pocket. He put the test tube down and checked it, smiling when he realized it was from his boyfriend.

'What do you want for dinner Haru?' he had asked.

'Mackerel' Haru could practically hear Makoto sigh and chuckle through the phone when he responded.

'Haru, we had that last night! Oh well, tonight's special, so I'll make an exception' Haru smiled. He honestly couldn't imagine life any other way.

Makoto checked his phone one last time before sighing and putting it down. Haru would always be Haru no matter what, he supposed. Not that he was complaining, really. But this was no time to be thinking about his ocean eyed lover. Makoto had to get back to work, and work was being a doctor. He had decided he had wanted to become a doctor back when his mom had first died. He had thought to himself, _what if Ren or Ran had a life threatening disease and nobody knew?_ He wanted to be the best doctor he could, so no one would ever have to go through that. Plus, he wanted to make sure everyone was safe no matter what, and he'd always be there for anyone in need. It was hard to focus on the job tonight though, he had been too busy thinking about his black haired lover. Tonight was their anniversary, and he was more excited than he had ever been in his life. He had gotten permission to get off work early, which was perfect since he needed to prepare for their special moonlight picnic.

_Tonight is going to be perfect_. he thought as he got back to work.

Meanwhile, Nagisa and Rei were preparing for their own special anniversary. Nagisa was also just getting off of work. He absolutely loved his job, which was being a zoo keeper, mostly for the penguins. He'd always loved the penguins, the way they waddled, and slipped around on the ice never failed to make him smile. He also got to see the smiling faces of families as they passed by the penguins, which made him happy. Although, sometimes during lunch, he'd be think of his own family, which had never taken him to the zoo. However, he didn't let the memories bother him for long, because he'd feel out of place in such a happy environment. He smiled as he drove, thinking of a certain blue haired man.

_Rei-chan will be with me tonight. That's definitely something to be happy about_.

Said purple eyed man was already at home, making preparations for their perfect date. See, Rei thought he'd surprise Nagisa with something they told each other they'd do someday: have a moonlight picnic. Rei smiled to himself. His life had taken a turn for the better ever since eight years ago. The police was impressed by his deducting and reasoning skills, and he had been put in a special police type school, teaching him the basics to becoming an investigator. Pretty soon, with much practice and dedication, he achieved his life long goal. The only time he had ever frowned because of this was when the ceremony came up, and his parents were not there to support him. But the frown was only there for a short amount of time, when he had spotted Nagisa waving wildly from the crowd. Nagisa who had been there the entire time, supporting him each step of the way.

_Tonight is going to be perfect._ he thought.

Makoto and Haru had made their way to the park where they were spending their moon viewing time, when they were greeted by a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, is that Nagisa and Rei over there?" Makoto whispered to Haru, pointing to a couple of boys walking in their direction. They weren't looking their way at first, but then Nagisa caught sight of Makoto's arm in his peripheral vision, and recognized the two immediately.

"Mako-chan! Haru-chan!" he called, waving at them. Both boys couldn't help but smile. So even after all this time, Nagisa still called them by their nicknames. Both parties made their way over to each other, and greetings were exchanged.

"So what are you two doing here anyway?" Makoto questioned.

"Rei-chan and I are having our anniversary!" Nagisa said enthusiastically. Makoto and Haru were surprised.

"So are we!" Now the tables were turned, and it was Nagisa and Rei's turn to be shocked. All four then looked down at each other's items, and noticed that not only did they have the same anniversary date, they also had the same idea too. They couldn't help but grin.

"Well, we might as well just eat together since we're here." Makoto said with his gentle smile. All three of them agreed, and got right to work setting up. They were done in less than a few short seconds, and had already sat down to start eating. While eating, the sun sank beneath the horizon, and the boys caught up with each other, cracking jokes along the way. By the time the meal was over the stars had come out, and the moon was in full view. The pairs of boys sat quietly on their quilts, hands intertwined with their respective partners. The moment couldn't have been more perfect, and each boy found himself wishing upon a star, just like they used to. However, they were not aware of the fact that all their wishes were the same. But that wish that they shared was special enough.

_I hope we can always stay one, big happy family_.

* * *

Alrighty, technically this is the last chapter! However, I will be writing an "extras" type chapter, which will include moments from before Makoto's mom died (since I kinda rushed that to get to the main story). So you can end your reading here, or stay tuned for one more chapter! But if you do decide to go, then I hope you enjoyed this story! ^u^


	15. Extras

Like I said in the last chapter, this takes place during Haru's stay with Makoto

* * *

**Extra #1**

"Haru nii-chan! We wanna play hide and seek with you and Onii-chan!" Ren told the black haired male at the dinner table.

"You'll have to be getting your baths soon, but one or two rounds couldn't hurt, right Haru?" Makoto asked. Haru nodded. He was still amazed that Makoto always seemed to know what his opinion was. Although, there was one problem: Haru had never actually played hide and seek in his life. He was generally a quiet kid, and often skipped out on everything that wasn't swimming.

"Actually, I have no idea how to play hide and seek." he stated bluntly, hoping the force of his bluntness would override his embarrassment. The room was suddenly silent from shock as all three gaped at him. Haru felt his cheeks heat up, and he almost wanted to crawl in a hole and hide there forever. However, the Tachibanas managed to surprise him, for they were soon smiling those signature gentle smiles of theirs.

"It's not that hard, Haru. We'll teach you." Makoto said. Haru nodded in agreement. It may have seemed silly to other people, but Haru was genuinely touched by Makoto's gesture. No one had ever paid him enough attention to actually work with him on something. He was happy that Makoto really, truly cared about him.

Soon, they were done with their meal, and Haru was given a short orientation on the basics of hide and seek courtesy of the twins. Once he understood the rules, they determined that Ren would be the one counting, and the rest would be hiding.

"1, 2, 3..." Ren started out as the remaining trio scrambled to find a good hiding place. They had approximately 20 seconds to find a hiding space. However, Haru was at a slight disadvantage because Ran and Makoto knew the house better than he did. He searched for five more seconds before he finally found a dark enough looking closet to hide in. He quickly opened the door and slid right in.

"Eep!" he heard as he got in and shut the door. Haru froze and took a good look at his surroundings. Despite the fact that it was dark, he could just make out the outline of Makoto's body in the closet.

"Looks like you had the same idea as I did." Makoto whispered, chuckling softly. However, Haru barely paid attention to what Makoto had said, for his mind began to wander. He thought of how close they were in this tight place. They were practically a few inches away from kissing. That thought alone made Haru blush, and he was definitely thankful Makoto couldn't see that. Both of them heard Ren's call of, "ready or not here I come!" and froze, hitching their breaths for a brief second to determine how close he was to them. But it appeared that he had gone upstairs, so they relaxed a little bit, wondering when Ren would come down.

About seven minutes had passed, and Ren hadn't found anybody. Haru and Makoto were both beginning to get tired of waiting, and Haru opted to rest his head on Makoto's shoulder. He yawned as he laid his head down and closed his eyes. Surprisingly, Makoto did the same. But at the same time, it wasn't that big of a surprise that they were both tired enough to do that. Both worked many part time jobs to keep them financially stable, took care of the twins and mom, and helped around the house. It was no wonder they were both exhausted, and before they knew it, they were softly snoring on each other's shoulders.

Ren and Ran tip toed toward the closet, and opened it quietly. They smiled in satisfaction as they found Haru and Makoto fast asleep. They got straight to work, one of them carefully dragging Haru out of his place while the other took Makoto. It was hard work, but each of them managed to drag the sleeping teens to Makoto's bedroom, and placed them both on his bed. Ren threw a blanket over the two, and both twins smiled even wider when they saw the two move closer together for warmth. The twins tip toed away, both thinking the same thing:

_Onii-chan and Haru nii-chan have been working so hard. They deserve a nice break_.

Hours later, Makoto and Haru both awoke to find themselves in a cuddling position on the bed. Slightly embarrassed, both of them awkwardly moved away from each other, wondering how they got in that position in the first place. However, it didn't take long for Makoto to figure it out.

"Those little devils are going to get it later. I bet they haven't even gotten their bath yet." Makoto said, chuckling a little bit.

"A tickle fight." Haru suddenly spoke up. Makoto was surprised, and almost thought he had misheard Makoto.

"A what?"

"They don't like being tickled. We should tickle them." Makoto grinned.

"Sounds good to me." Both got off the bed and walked quietly out of the room, hoping they'd surprise the two.

Ren and Ran were certainly not expecting their big brother and his best friend to come from around the corner to where they were playing. So it was an unpleasant surprise when they felt two hands on their bodies, with moving fingers trailing up and down their sides. They couldn't control themselves as Haru and Makoto attacked them; they nearly had tears running down their poor faces.

"Nii, nii- nii-chan... s-s-stop!" Ran couldn't barely get out as she laughed harder than she ever had before. Ren couldn't even talk, he was simply reduced to squealing. Haru and Makoto couldn't hide the smiles on their faces, and continued until they felt they had gotten their revenge. All in all, everyone thought that it was a great bonding experience for the entire family.

* * *

** Extra #2**

Today was a slow day for Haru. The twins were at school, Makoto was at work, Haru had a few days off from work, and all the chores had been done. He found himself bored for the first time ever in the Tachibana residence.

_Maybe turning on the TV wouldn't be so bad_. he thought to himself as he reached for the remote.

Suddenly, a blood curdling scream jolted him out of his calm state.

Haru jumped quickly dropped the remote and ran to the back of the house, where the source was. He flung open the door to Makoto's mom's room and rushed inside, his heart pounding as the hysteric woman continued to shriek. He frantically looked around for something to potentially help him, but it seemed like he'd have to bear the beatings he may get. Copying Makoto's actions, he climbed on the bed and began to speak softly to Makoto's mom. It was hard at first, since jabs and kicks were being thrown in every direction, but soon he caught her attention just enough to begin the calming stages of the panic attack.

"Hey, it's alright. Just calm down, take deep breaths..." he repeated over and over. Eventually, the lull of his soothing voice calmed her down, and she soon settled back into the covers of her bed. However, she did not got back to sleep like Haru had expected.

"You're not Mako." she said slowly and quietly. Haru tensed. He had no idea what to do in this situation. What if she began to scream again because she thought there was an intruder? Haru decided telling her his relationship to Makoto would be a good place to start.

"I'm Mako's friend." he said calmly, hoping she'd believe him. Her face was less tense now, and more calm.

"Friend?" Haru nodded. She smiled a sweet smile. She seemed to like the idea of Makoto having a friend. When Haru got right down to it, Makoto's mom wasn't a bad person at all. She just had a hard time expressing emotions, and getting her words out.

"What's your name?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Haru." he responded, unsure of what was coming next. Another sweet smile graced her lips.

"I like you, Haru." she said as she drifted off to sleep. Haru smiled and quietly crept out of the room, closing the door. He didn't think he'd ever fully understand Makoto's mom, but that was alright with him. He'd like her no matter what.

Later that evening, just after the four finished up dinner, Makoto asked Haru how his day went. Haru responded positively, which made Makoto happy. But as the green eyed teen was doing to the dishes, he couldn't help but wonder about something that had been plaguing his thoughts that previous morning.

"Did mom have an episode while we were out?" Makoto didn't even need to look behind him to sense the sudden tension in the air.

"She did." Haru simply responded. Makoto got worried.

"Did you handle it? Are you okay? Did she-"

"Makoto, don't worry. I handled it just fine." Haru said. The air of confidence in Haru's voice was surprising to Makoto, and the lack of screaming and whimpering was also a sure sign that something good must've happened.

"She must like you then." he said.

"Yes. She told me." Now this was even more surprising! Makoto's mom rarely liked any strangers.

"Haru, that's great!" he said enthusiastically. Haru only smiled to himself in response.

_I'm so glad I'm here._

* * *

Alright, I'm all done now! Thank you everyone who stayed to the very end of this! :)


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